Commands: the imperative form
Gr. 1: -u → -e（行け）; Gr. 2: る → ろ（食べろ）; する → しろ, 来る → 来い
Imperative: group 1 う → え (行け), group 2 る → ろ (食べろ), しろ, 来い. A blunt command: signs, emergencies, sport, quotations; avoid it in conversation.
In short
The imperative form is the bare command: 行け (go!), 食べろ (eat!), しろ (do it!), 来い (come here!). You see it on signs, and hear it in shouts, sports cheering and reported speech, but almost never in polite conversation.
- 止まれとまれStop (road sign).
- がんばれ！がんばれ！Come on, you can do it!
- 危ない！ 逃げろ！あぶない！ にげろ！Look out! Run!
- 父は いつも 「勉強しろ」と 言います。ちちは いつも 「べんきょうしろ」と いいます。My father is always telling me, “Study!”
The basics
Japanese has a direct command form with no politeness at all: the imperative. It's so blunt that it's rarely used to someone's face — far harsher than an English imperative like “Come here”. But you'll come across it everywhere: road signs, cheering at the stadium, emergency shouts, manga, and reported speech.
Get over here, quick!
- adjective
- verb
- がんばれ、タイガース！がんばれ、タイガース！Come on, Tigers! (at the stadium, in Osaka)
How to form it
Group 1: the final syllable changes to “e” (う → え). Group 2: る becomes ろ. The irregulars must be learned by heart: する → しろ, 来る → 来い (こい). In official writing, する also becomes せよ.
| Group | Dictionary | Imperative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| group 1 | 行く | 行け | go! |
| group 1 | 待つ | 待て | wait! |
| group 1 | 止まる | 止まれ | stop! |
| group 1 | 飲む | 飲め | drink! |
| group 2 | 食べる | 食べろ | eat! |
| group 2 | 起きる | 起きろ | get up! |
| irregular | する | しろ | do it! |
| irregular | 来る | 来い（こい） | come here! |
- おい、待て！おい、まて！Hey, wait!
- もう 七時だよ。起きろ！もう しちじだよ。おきろ！It's already 7. Get up!
Where do you actually hear it?
On signs (止まれ), in emergencies (逃げろ), in sport (がんばれ, 走れ), between very close male friends, and from manga characters. It's also used to report an order: 「早く 来い」と 言われた.
The one case where it isn't harsh: がんばれ, which is warm encouragement.
- 走れ！ まだ 間に合う！はしれ！ まだ まにあう！Run! We can still make it!
- 先生は 「よく 考えろ」と 言いました。せんせいは 「よく かんがえろ」と いいました。The teacher said, “Think carefully!”
From blunt command to polite request
To ask someone for something, there's a whole range. The imperative is right at the bottom: keep it for reading and quoting. 〜なさい, an instruction from someone in authority, comes a little later.
| Form | Register |
|---|---|
| 来い | blunt command |
| 来て | casual request |
| 来て ください | polite request |
| 来て くださいませんか | very polite request |
Common mistakes
- Using it in conversation: with a friend, a colleague or a stranger, it's rude. Say 〜て or 〜て ください.
- Mixing up 行け (imperative: “go!”) and 行ける (potential: “can go”).
- Forming 来る like a group 2 verb (“来ろ”): it's 来い（こい）.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N4 point is on the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line (Health) of the Osaka subway.