Learning how to use the command forms in Japanese

Learning how to use the command forms in Japanese:Using なさい、な and て欲しい to create commands and negative commands.

We command you to sit down and read this article thoroughly! Hello everyone, today we are going to be looking at and working on various command forms in Japanese. From commanding someone to get you a drink to commanding someone to shut up, we are going to look at these commands in varying degrees of politeness.

We will look at how to form the sentences and also some example sentences too, to make sure they are understood. So let’s get started and start learning some of these command forms.

The negative command form: Telling someone not to do something.

The first command form we are going to look at is actually a negative command. Which instead of telling someone to do something, it tells them not to do something. To do this we use the hiragana な “na”.

Don’t look at me! Don’t say that kind of thing! Don’t eat my donut! Are all the types of commands you can use with this phrase.

Warning: This should only be used when you are extremely annoyed and want to tell someone to stop doing something. It is really strong and abrupt so please use with caution.

To make this form simply add な to the end of a plain form verb.

これを使うな

Kore wo tsukau na

Do NOT use that

そんなことを言うな

Sonna koto wo iu na

Do NOT say that kind of thing

This is a really good phrase to use with your kids, friends, family etc if they are doing something annoying or out of line. Also can be used with anyone who you feel maybe also crossing a line.

The Command form: Telling someone to do something.

Now we are going to look at the command form. Rather than telling someone not do something, this form tells them to do something with the same strength as the previous. It has a very strong connotation so again please use with caution and only when the situation calls for it. To form this please look at the following:

For Ru verbs change 「る」 to 「ろ」

• 食べる　－　食べろ
• Taberu – Tabero
• To eat – Eat!

For U verbs:

Replace the last u-vowel sound with the e-vowel of the same sequence

• 行く　－　行け
• Iku – Ike
• To go – Go!

Group 3 – Kuru and Suru

• する → しろ
• くる → こい

So as you can see once you get the hang of these conjugations its pretty easy and can come in very handy in certain situations.

We are now going to look at a polite command form that expresses “want”.

The polite command form: Telling someone you want them to do something

If you want to be a little more polite at your commands you can ahh て欲しい this means “want you to do something”. This is only used when talking about what you want someone else to do and not yourself.

You create this form by turning the verb into the て form and adding 欲しい hoshii, it really is that simple. Lets look at an example.

野菜を食べてほしい

Yasai wo tabete hoshii

I want you to eat those vegetables

As you can see here it’s not as strong as the other 2 commands yet it still gives a sense of a strong command. This is really good to use in teaching situations or ordering your husband to go and get the milk.

The final polite wanting command: Telling someone to do something (more politely)

The final polite command form we are going to look at today is なさい nasai. To form this, you take a masu form verb like 飲みます nomimasu – take off the ます masu and add なさい。This is a more polite version of the ろ and え for we discussed earlier. This form is polite grammatically however still has a feel of a stern command. This is mostly used by authority features to issue orders.

集中しなさい

Shuuchuu shinasai

Concentrate!

今夜、宿題をしなさい

Konya, shukudai wo shinasai

You must do your homework tonight

So that is the final command form that we are going to be learning today. Lets now summarise these four commands and remind ourselves of their uses.

Here is a table to illustrate the command forms that we have learnt today.

Negative Command form	な	Do NOT do
Command form	ろ　－　え	DO it
Polite Command form	なさい	Do it
Polite wanting command	て欲しい	I want you to

So guys, that brings us to the end of the article. We hope that you have learnt a lot from today’s online Japanese lesson on the Japanese command forms. It can be a lot to remember but take it day by day and focus on one point at a time.

Okay guys, fantastic lesson today, if you have any more questions or content suggestions please feel free to get in touch. 

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