Kanji in this term |
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言 |
い Grade: 2 |
kun’yomi |
Alternative spellings |
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謂う 云う (literary) |
/ipu/ → /iɸu/ → /*iwu/ → /iu/ → /juː/
From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *ipu. Compare Korean 입 (ip, “mouth”).
Medial /p/ regularly changed from → → . Japanese never distinguished between /wu/ and /u/, so that automatically becomes . The /w/ only surfaces in the negative form of iwanai, where the phoneme /wa/ exists. Surface forms /iwimasu/ and /iwemasu/ automatically became /iimasu/ and /iemasu/ since Japanese no longer distinguished /wi, we/ from /i, e/.
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary | |||
Stem forms | |||
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Terminal (終止形) Attributive (連体形) |
言う | いう | |
Imperative (命令形) | 言え | いえ | |
Key constructions | |||
Passive | 言われる | いわれる | |
Causative | 言わせる | いわせる | |
Potential | 言える | いえる | |
Volitional | 言おう | いおー | |
Negative | 言わない | いわない | |
Negative perfective | 言わなかった | いわなかった | |
Formal | 言います | いいます | |
Perfective | 言った | いった | |
Conjunctive | 言って | いって | |
Hypothetical conditional | 言えば | いえば |
言う or 言う • (iu or yuu) ←いふ (ifu)?transitive godan (stem 言い (ii), past 言った (itta))
As a transitive verb, this can take the usual accusative particle を (o) after the object of the verb. However, it is much more common to see this with the quotative particle と (to) instead.
Compared to other verbs such as 喋る (shaberu), 話す (hanasu) and 語る (kataru), which refer specifically to speaking, this verb is abstract, and sometimes used like a copula, as in そういう, ああいう, こういう, っていうこと.
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") | |||
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Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 言わ | いわ | iwa |
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 言い | いい | ii |
Shūshikei ("terminal") | 言う | いう | iu |
Rentaikei ("attributive") | 言う | いう | iu |
Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 言え | いえ | ie |
Meireikei ("imperative") | 言え | いえ | ie |
Key constructions | |||
Passive | 言われる | いわれる | iwareru |
Causative | 言わせる 言わす |
いわせる いわす |
iwaseru iwasu |
Potential | 言える | いえる | ieru |
Volitional | 言おう | いおう | iō |
Negative | 言わない | いわない | iwanai |
Negative continuative | 言わず | いわず | iwazu |
Formal | 言います | いいます | iimasu |
Perfective | 言った | いった | itta |
Conjunctive | 言って | いって | itte |
Hypothetical conditional | 言えば | いえば | ieba |
Stem forms | |||
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Irrealis (未然形) | 言は | いは | ifa |
Continuative (連用形) | 言ひ | いひ | ifi |
Terminal (終止形) | 言ふ | いふ | ifu |
Attributive (連体形) | 言ふ | いふ | ifu |
Realis (已然形) | 言へ | いへ | ife |
Imperative (命令形) | 言へ | いへ | ife |
Key constructions | |||
Negative | 言はず | いはず | ifazu |
Contrasting conjunction | 言へど | いへど | ifedo |
Causal conjunction | 言へば | いへば | ifeba |
Conditional conjunction | 言はば | いはば | ifaba |
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | 言ひき | いひき | ifiki |
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | 言ひけり | いひけり | ifikeri |
Perfect tense (conscious action) | 言ひつ | いひつ | ifitu |
Perfect tense (natural event) | 言ひぬ | いひぬ | ifinu |
Perfect-continuative tense | 言へり 言ひたり |
いへり いひたり |
iferi ifitari |
Volitional | 言はむ | いはむ | ifamu |