The bare imperative is blunt to the point of rudeness and mostly appears in signs, sports and fiction. Knowing it matters more for reading than for speaking.
Also known asimperative form命令形meireikeijapanese commands
Group I: shift the final う-row kana to the え-row (no る). Group II: replace る with ろ. Group III is irregular. It is blunt — orders, signs, cheering.
| Ending | 命令形becomes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Group I (う-verbs) | ||
| う | え | 会う → 会え |
| つ | て | 立つ → 立て |
| る | れ | 割る → 割れ |
| く | け | 書く → 書け |
| ぐ | げ | 泳ぐ → 泳げ |
| ぬ | ね | 死ぬ → 死ね |
| ぶ | べ | 遊ぶ → 遊べ |
| む | め | 休む → 休め |
| す | せ | 探す → 探せ |
| Group II (る-verbs) | ||
| る | ろ | 食べる → 食べろ |
| る | ろ | 起きる → 起きろ |
| る | ろ | 閉じる → 閉じろ |
| Group III (irregular) | ||
| 来るkoi | 来い | 来る → 来い |
| する | しろ | する → しろ |
※ くれる (Group II) is an exception: its imperative is くれ, not くれろ. The prohibitive (“don't …”) is the dictionary form + な: 見るな.
Blunt command (行け, 食べろ, しろ, 来い) and prohibition (dictionary + な: 行くな).
「あぶない、とまれ！」
“Danger — stop!”
Imperative: Group I う-row → え-row (行く→行け); Group II stem + ろ (食べる→食べろ); する→しろ, 来る→来い. Prohibition: dictionary form + な (見るな).
These sound rough — used on signs, in emergencies, in sports, or by men among close friends; otherwise far too direct.
In the textbooksMinna II, lesson 33