Do, can, become, change

Stage 1General verbsChunk 17 of 26 · items 73–77 of 484

The structural action verbs — do (suru, casual yaru), can do (dekiru) and become (naru) — that turn nouns and adjectives into events, plus kawaru for something changing on its own.

Mix-ups

suru and yaru overlap as 'do' (nani shiteru / nani yatteru), but only suru builds noun+suru verbs (shinpai suru, renraku suru); 'can do' for those is X dekiru, not a potential form of suru; naru says what something became (samuku natta) while kawaru says it's different from before (kawatta ne) and names the result only with ni (yotei ga raishuu ni kawatta); its transitive partner kaeru (change it) gives kaeta (changed it), one doubled t away from kaetta (went home).

suru

polite shimasudrama rank #15

do; make

するPlay しますPlay

The all-purpose 'do' and the hinge of every noun+suru verb (benkyou suru, shinpai suru), while X ni suru / -ku suru means 'go with X' or 'make it X'.

casualPlay

ima nani shiteru?

What are you up to right now?

今何してる？

politePlay

ima nani o shitemasu ka?

What are you doing right now?

今何をしてますか？

Irregular: shite, shita, shinai, shiyou.

Learn alongside: yaru

yaru

polite yarimasudrama rank #45

do (casual)

やるPlay やりますPlay

Casual-leaning 'do' for activities, hobbies, sports and tasks (yatta!, gitaa yatteru, nani yatteru?); yarimasu is normal in everyday polite talk (watashi ga yarimasu), with shimasu the safer choice in formal settings.

casualPlay

nanka supootsu yatteru?

Do you play any sports?

なんかスポーツやってる？

politePlay

nanika supootsu o yattemasu ka?

Do you play any sports?

何かスポーツをやってますか？

yatta! = 'Yay!' for any good news, not only your own success; yaru also means give to pets and plants (mizu yatta?), and -te yaru (doing for someone) sounds rough.

Learn alongside: suruLearn first: suru

dekiru

polite dekimasudrama rank #73

can do; be ready; come into being

できるPlay できますPlay

The 'can' for skills and every noun+suru verb (unten dekiru, nihongo dekiru), with the skill marked by ga; dekita means 'it's ready / done' and also that something new appeared (atarashii mise ga dekita, kareshi dekita?).

casualPlay

kuruma no unten dekiru?

Can you drive?

車の運転できる？

politePlay

kuruma no unten wa dekimasu ka?

Are you able to drive?

車の運転はできますか？

Only nouns and suru-verbs take dekiru (unten dekiru, never *unten sureru); every other verb uses its potential form: ikeru, taberareru, never *iku dekiru.

Learn first: suru

naru

polite narimasudrama rank #29

become; turn into

なるPlay なりますPlay

Any change of state, as adjective -ku naru or noun / na-adjective ni naru (samuku natta, genki ni natta), and dou natta? asks how something turned out.

casualPlay

samuku natta ne.

It's gotten cold, huh.

寒くなったね。

politePlay

samuku narimashita ne.

It's gotten cold, hasn't it.

寒くなりましたね。

Past natta reports the new state: samuku natta = it's cold now.

kawaru

polite kawarimasudrama rank #226

change (by itself)

変わる かわるPlay 変わりますPlay

Says something changed on its own (a person, plan, place or price), with the thing marked by ga; changing it yourself is the transitive kaeru (kaeta).

casualPlay

kawattenai ne.

You haven't changed.

変わってないね。

politePlay

kawattemasen ne.

You haven't changed.

変わってませんね。

kawatteru / kawatta often means odd or unusual, not 'is changing' (kawatteru ne = you're a bit unusual; kawatta hito = an odd person). 代わる shares the sound: kawarou ka? = want me to take over?

Learn first: -teru