If you’ve ever tried to string together a few verbs in Japanese and stumbled on how to say ‘I eat and then drink,’ you’ve already met the te form. It’s the connector that turns a pile of verbs into a flowing sentence. This list gathers around 172 te form entries-covering common verbs, their te form conjugations, and natural example sentences so you can see how each one behaves in real Japanese. Before drilling the changes, review dictionary form versus masu form.
Each entry shows you the plain verb, its te form, a straightforward meaning, and a practical example sentence. There’s audio playback too, so you can train your ears while you study.
Ready to make the Japanese te form feel a little less mysterious and a lot more useful? Scroll to the bottom of this article to find the free printable Japanese te form vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable Japanese te form flashcards.
If this topic helped, explore more in our Japanese learning section. it’s the easiest way to keep building related vocabulary without jumping around the web.
Quick Quiz
Think you’ve nailed the te form? The quick quiz below gives you a friendly nudge – no pressure, just a way to see which verbs might need another look.
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Browse the Full List
| Word | Reading | Type | Meaning | Example | Translation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 落ちる | おちる | る-verb | to fall | 葉が落ちて、道がきれいになりました。 | The leaves fell, and the road became clean. | |
| 行く | いく | う-verb | to go | 駅へ行ってきます。 | I'm going to the station and coming back. | |
| 行く | いく | irregular | to go | 駅へ行って、切符を買いました。 | I went to the station and bought a ticket. | |
| 表す | あらわす | う-verb | to represent; to express; to show | 彼は言葉で気持ちを表して、手紙を書いた。 | He expressed his feelings in words and wrote a letter. | |
| 裏切る | うらぎる | う-verb | to betray; to double-cross | 彼は仲間を裏切って、敵に情報を渡した。 | He betrayed his comrades and gave information to the enemy. | |
| 覆う | おおう | う-verb | to cover; to conceal | 雲が空を覆って、暗くなった。 | Clouds covered the sky, and it got dark. | |
| 見せる | みせる | る-verb | to show | 先生に答案を見せました。 | I showed my test paper to the teacher. | |
| 見つける | みつける | る-verb | to find | 駅で友だちを見つけて、手を振った。 | I found my friend at the station and waved. | |
| 見る | みる | る-verb | to see; to look | 写真を見てください。 | Please look at the photo. | |
| 見る | みる | る-verb | to see; to watch | 映画を見て、ゆっくり休みました。 | I watched a movie and rested quietly. | |
| 覚える | おぼえる | る-verb | to memorize / remember | この単語を覚えて、テストに備えます。 | I will memorize this word and prepare for the test. | |
| 言う | いう | う-verb | to say | 先生がゆっくり言ってくれて、分かりました。 | The teacher said it slowly, and I understood. | |
| 訴える | うったえる | る-verb | to appeal; to bring to someone's attention | 彼は先生に問題を訴えて、助けを求めた。 | He brought the problem to the teacher's attention and asked for help. | |
| 話す | はなす | う-verb | to speak | 先生と話しています。 | I am talking with the teacher. | |
| 読む | よむ | う-verb | to read | 彼は本を読んでいます。 | He is reading a book. | |
| 読む | よむ | う-verb | to read | 寝る前に本を読んでいます。 | I read a book before going to bed. | |
| 調べる | しらべる | る-verb | to look up | 辞書で言葉を調べてください。 | Please look up the word in a dictionary. | |
| 諦める | あきらめる | る-verb | to give up; to abandon (hope, plans); to resign oneself (to) | まだ諦めないで、もう少し頑張って。 | Don't give up yet; try a little harder. | |
| 買う | かう | う-verb | to buy | スーパーでパンを買ってきました。 | I bought bread at the supermarket and came back. | |
| 貸す | かす | う-verb | to lend | 友だちに本を貸してあげました。 | I lent my friend a book. | |
| 贈る | おくる | う-verb | to give as a gift; to present | 友達に花を贈って、感謝を伝えた。 | I gave my friend flowers and expressed my thanks. | |
| 走る | はしる | う-verb | to run | 子どもたちが公園で走っていました。 | The children were running in the park. | |
| 起きる | おきる | る-verb | to get up, wake up | 毎朝七時に起きて、学校へ行きます。 | I get up at seven every morning and go to school. | |
| 起こる | おこる | う-verb | to occur; to happen | その町で大きな事故が起こって、ニュースになった。 | A major accident happened in that town and became news. | |
| 踊る | おどる | う-verb | to dance | 彼女は音楽に合わせて踊っている。 | She is dancing to the music. |
Free Japanese Te Form Vocabulary List and Flashcard PDFs to Download
You can grab the purple Japanese te form vocabulary list button for a 100% free, no-signup PDF. Then use the teal Japanese te form flashcards button to download the matching flashcards, also completely free and no signup required.
