Introduction

I've always found verb conjugation to be one of the hardest parts of learning Japanese so after being inspired by this instagram reel by @japon_go I decided to compile it into a table that I could print out and hang up.

I ended up with 83 words in total. I did use an LLM to fill in the meanings, formality, and grammar type after realising how long it would take me to do by hand, however I then checked over everything by myself and with my tutor correcting or altering as necessary.

Form	Meaning (Refined)	Formality	Grammar Type
する	to do (basic, neutral verb; can be broad in meaning depending on context)	Casual	Affirmative
した	did (simple past; straightforward past action)	Casual	Affirmative
して	te-form (connects clauses, makes requests, or soft commands; versatile)	Casual	Affirmative
してる	is doing (casual contraction of している; used in spoken, informal contexts)	Casual	Affirmative
してた	was doing (casual contraction of していた; informal past continuous)	Casual	Affirmative
しろ	do (command; blunt and direct imperative; often male speech)	Casual	Command
やれ	do (rough imperative; very blunt, sometimes rude or aggressive)	Casual	Command
するな	don’t do (negative command; blunt prohibition)	Casual	Command
やるな	don’t do (rough negative command; forceful and blunt)	Casual	Command
しなければ	if don’t do (conditional; introduces condition or hypothetical situation)	Casual	Conditional
しないかもしれない	might not do (negative possibility; tentative or uncertain)	Casual	Conditional
したくない	don’t want to do (expresses personal lack of desire; straightforward negative desire)	Casual	Desire
したくなかった	didn’t want to do (past negative desire; expresses prior lack of will)	Casual	Desire
してほしい	want someone to do (expresses desire or request for others’ action)	Casual	Desire
してほしくない	want someone not to do (expresses desire for others to refrain from action)	Casual	Desire
したい	want to do (personal desire or wish)	Casual	Desire
してみる	try doing (experiment or test; “give it a shot,” casual tone)	Casual	Expression
しておく	do in advance (prepare or take care of something ahead of time; practical nuance)	Casual	Expression
しとく	do in advance (casual contraction of しておく; informal, often male speech)	Casual	Expression
するつもり	intend to do (expresses firm plan or intention; more determined than 思う)	Casual	Expression
するべき	should do (moral or logical obligation; commonly used in advice or recommendations)	Casual	Expression
するべきだ	should do (stronger assertion of obligation; more emphatic, sometimes directive)	Casual	Expression
するんだ	explanatory tone (“you see, I do…”; used to clarify or emphasize, sometimes with mild reproach or assertion)	Casual	Expression
するんだった	should have done (expresses regret or realization of a past mistake or oversight)	Casual	Expression
するかもしれない	might do (expresses possibility or uncertainty; often tentative)	Casual	Expression
してはいられない	can’t keep doing (expresses emotional urgency or inability to continue an action; strong feeling)	Casual	Expression
してんの？	what are you doing? (very casual contraction of しているの, informal and often playful or confrontational)	Casual	Expression
するって	hearsay: 'they say do' (informal quoting or reporting speech; can imply surprise or skepticism)	Casual	Expression
しない	don’t do (plain negative; straightforward negation)	Casual	Negative
しなかった	didn’t do (plain past negative; simple negation of past action)	Casual	Negative
してない	not doing (casual contraction of していない; informal ongoing negation)	Casual	Negative
してなかった	wasn’t doing (casual contraction of していなかった; informal past continuous negation)	Casual	Negative
しないで	without doing (negative command or “don’t do and…” construction; used to request avoidance)	Casual	Negative
せずに	without doing (literary/rare negative form; mostly in written or formal contexts)	Casual	Negative
しなきゃ	have to do (contraction of しなければならない; informal, urgent or emphatic obligation)	Casual	Obligation
しなくてはいけない	must do (strong necessity; softer than しなければならない but firm)	Casual	Obligation
しなければならない	must do (strong necessity; formal or written contexts common)	Casual	Obligation
しよう	let’s do / will do (volitional; invitation or spontaneous decision, friendly or inclusive tone)	Casual	Volitional
しようと思う	I think I’ll do (expresses personal intention or tentative plan; somewhat introspective)	Casual	Volitional
しようとする	try to do (start to make an effort or attempt; often short-term or immediate)	Casual	Volitional
しようとしている	be trying to do (ongoing effort; emphasizes process or persistence)	Casual	Volitional
しようとした	tried to do (past attempt; may imply failure or interruption)	Casual	Volitional
せよ / せい	do (imperative; legal, formal, or literary command; strong directive often seen in official documents)	Formal	Command
なさる	do (honorific; respectful verb used to elevate the subject’s action, usually someone superior or customer)	Formal	Honorific
なさい	do! (polite command; respectful but firm imperative, often from authority figure like teacher or parent)	Formal	Honorific
なさった	did (honorific past; polite and respectful past action by superior)	Formal	Honorific
いたす	do (humble; modest verb used to lower speaker’s action and show respect)	Formal	Humble
せざるを得ない	must do (literary; unavoidable obligation, often reluctantly accepted)	Formal	Obligation
させる	make/let someone do (causative; implies permission or compulsion depending on context)	Neutral	Causative
させない	don’t make/let someone do(negative causative; refusal to permit action)	Neutral	Causative
させた	made/let (past causative; permitted or forced past action)	Neutral	Causative
させられる	be made to do (causative passive; forced or reluctant action)	Neutral	Causative Passive
させられた	was made to do (past causative passive; indicates forced or reluctant past action)	Neutral	Causative Passive
すれば	if do verb then __ (conditional; “if one does…” hypothetical or cause-effect)	Neutral	Conditional
したとしたら	if (you) did (hypothetical conditional; more tentative or speculative)	Neutral	Conditional
しなかったとしたら	if didn’t do (hypothetical negative conditional; speculation about past non-action)	Neutral	Conditional
していれば	if something had been doing (past progressive conditional; hypothetical ongoing action)	Neutral	Conditional
しても	even if do (concessive conditional; “even if it happens”)	Neutral	Conditional
するまでもない	not worth doing (expression that an action is unnecessary or excessive)	Neutral	Expression
するまで	until doing (temporal expression indicating action continues until point)	Neutral	Expression
するらしい	apparently does (hearsay or conjecture; used to report information indirectly)	Neutral	Expression
される	be done (passive; subject experiences the action)	Neutral	Passive
された	was done (past passive; simple passive past action)	Neutral	Passive
している	is doing (progressive; ongoing action or current state)	Neutral	Progressive
していない	is not doing (negative progressive; ongoing negation)	Neutral	Progressive
していた	was doing (past progressive; ongoing past action)	Neutral	Progressive
していなかった	wasn’t doing (past negative progressive; ongoing negation in the past)	Neutral	Progressive
します	do (polite affirmative; neutral respectful form for everyday polite speech)	Polite	Affirmative
しました	did (polite past affirmative; past action in polite speech)	Polite	Affirmative
してもいい	may do (permission granted; polite expression of allowed action)	Polite	Expression
するそうです	reportedly does (polite hearsay; polite indirect report, sometimes from news or official sources)	Polite	Expression
するべきでした	should have done (polite past obligation or regret)	Polite	Expression
するべきではありませんでした	should not have done (polite negative past obligation or regret)	Polite	Expression
しておきます	do in advance (polite; preparation or preemptive action)	Polite	Expression
するんですか？	soft question (polite, seeks confirmation or clarification with gentle tone)	Polite	Expression
なさいます	do (honorific polite; very respectful, elevates subject’s action)	Polite	Honorific
いたします	do (humble polite; very respectful, often in customer service)	Polite	Humble
しません	don’t do (polite negative; straightforward polite negation)	Polite	Negative
しませんでした	didn’t do (polite past negative; polite negation of past action)	Polite	Negative
してはいけません	must not do (polite prohibition; polite but firm negative command)	Polite	Negative
してはなりません	must not do (strict polite prohibition; stronger than してはいけません)	Polite	Negative
してはいけない	must not do (polite negative prohibition; similar to してはいけません, but often firmer)	Polite	Negative
するべきじゃなかった	shouldn’t have done (polite negative past regret; casual contraction of するべきではなかった, informal regret)	Polite	Negative
しないといけない	must do (polite/casual mix; necessity often used in conversation)	Polite	Obligation