This is the full reference paradigm for a godan verb ending in -う, built on the model verb 会う（あう, "to meet"）. The -う group is the one where an English speaker's instincts most reliably fail, because the dictionary form ends in a bare vowel — there is no visible consonant to slide. Yet the consonant is there historically (a w), and it resurfaces in exactly one cell: the negative/causative stem is 会わ-, not ×会あ-. Master that わ, plus the small-っ te-form 会って, and the whole group falls into place.
Where the hidden わ comes from
A godan stem is supposed to end in a consonant and walk across the five vowel rows あ・い・う・え・お. For 会う the consonant is a historical w, which in modern Japanese only survives before あ. So the あ-row form is わ (wa), and everything else drops the w:
- あ-row → 会わ (awa) — negative, causative, passive
- い-row → 会い (ai) — polite ます-stem
- う-row → 会う (au) — dictionary
- え-row → 会え (ae) — potential, conditional, imperative
- お-row → 会お (ao) — volitional
This is why the negative is 会わない and never ×会あない. Every -う verb behaves this way: 買う → 買わない, 使う → 使わない, 言う → 言わない.
最近、彼とは全然会わない。
saikin, kare to wa zenzen awanai
I haven't seen him at all lately.
明日、駅で友達に会う。
ashita, eki de tomodachi ni au
I'm meeting a friend at the station tomorrow.
The full paradigm — 会う
| Form | 会う (to meet) | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary (plain non-past) | 会う | au |
| Polite 〜ます | 会います | aimasu |
| Plain negative 〜ない | 会わない | awanai |
| Polite negative 〜ません | 会いません | aimasen |
| Plain past 〜た | 会った | atta |
| Plain past-negative 〜なかった | 会わなかった | awanakatta |
| Te-form 〜て | 会って | atte |
| Potential (can) | 会える | aeru |
| Passive (受身) | 会われる | awareru |
| Causative (使役) | 会わせる | awaseru |
| Causative-passive | 会わせられる ／ 会わされる | awaserareru / awasareru |
| Volitional 〜おう | 会おう | aō |
| Conditional 〜ば | 会えば | aeba |
| Conditional 〜たら | 会ったら | attara |
| Imperative (plain command) | 会え | ae |
| Prohibitive (negative command) | 会うな | au na |
Note that the potential 会える conjugates as an ichidan verb once formed (会えない, 会えます, 会えた) — that is true of every potential form, in every class. And the contracted causative-passive 会わされる is the everyday spoken form; the full 会わせられる is heavier and more written.
久しぶりに大学の先生に会いました。
hisashiburi ni daigaku no sensei ni aimashita
I met my old university professor for the first time in ages.
ごめん、今週は忙しくて会えないんだ。
gomen, konshū wa isogashikute aenai n da
Sorry — I'm busy this week, so I can't meet up.
また近いうちに会おうね。
mata chikai uchi ni aō ne
Let's meet again sometime soon, okay?
The te-form: 会う → 会って (促音便)
Every -う verb takes the doubling change — 促音便（そくおんびん, "the small-っ sound-change"）. The う collapses into a small っ and て follows:
会う → 会って ／ 会った ・ 買う → 買って ・ 使う → 使って ・ 言う → 言って ・ 笑う → 笑って
This is the same っ that the つ- and る-godan verbs take, so う・つ・る are taught together as one te-form family — see Godan う・つ・る → って. The past 〜た mirrors it exactly: 会って ↔ 会った.
現場で会って、細かい打ち合わせをしましょう。
genba de atte, komakai uchiawase o shimashō
Let's meet on-site and go over the details.
初めて彼女に会ったのは、去年の春だった。
hajimete kanojo ni atta no wa, kyonen no haru datta
The first time I met her was last spring.
The catch: 問う and 請う go 問うて, not 問って
A tiny, high-register set of -う verbs does not take the っ. The literary/formal verbs 問う（とう, "to ask, to question"） and 請う（こう, "to request, to beg"） keep their う and add て/た directly: 問うて／問うた, 請うて／請うた — never ×問って. You will meet 問う mostly in set phrases and written Japanese (責任を問う "hold someone accountable," 罪に問う "charge with a crime"). This is a genuine exception you simply memorize; the full story is on 問う・請う: the special -う verbs.
その事故で会社の責任が問われている。
sono jiko de kaisha no sekinin ga towarete iru
The company's responsibility is being called into question over that accident.
How this differs from English
English marks tense by reshaping the whole word ("meet / met") but never re-vowels a verb just to negate it. Japanese does the opposite: the ending 〜ない, 〜せる, 〜れる all attach to the あ-row stem, which for a -う verb is the surprising わ. There is no English reflex to lean on here — you have to actively remember that "the negative of 会う is awanai, with a w you cannot see in the dictionary form." Once that わ is automatic, the rest of the paradigm is mechanical.
Common mistakes
❌ 最近、彼とは全然会あない。
saikin, kare to wa zenzen aanai
Incorrect — the negative stem is the わ-row 会わ, not ×会あ.
✅ 最近、彼とは全然会わない。
saikin, kare to wa zenzen awanai
I haven't seen him at all lately.
❌ 現場で会いて、打ち合わせをしましょう。
genba de aite, uchiawase o shimashō
Incorrect — -う verbs don't leave the ます-stem; they take 促音便 → 会って.
✅ 現場で会って、打ち合わせをしましょう。
genba de atte, uchiawase o shimashō
Let's meet on-site and go over things.
❌ 友達を会う。
tomodachi o au
Incorrect — 会う takes に for the person met, not を.
✅ 友達に会う。
tomodachi ni au
I'm meeting a friend.
❌ また会よう。
mata ayō
Incorrect — the volitional of a godan verb is お-row + う (会おう), not the ichidan 〜よう.
✅ また会おう。
mata aō
Let's meet again.
The recurring theme: the -う ending hides a consonant. Negative, causative, and passive all reach for the わ-row; the te-form and past double into っ; only the volitional lands on the smooth お-row 会おう.
Key takeaways
- 会う is the model godan -う verb. The stem's hidden consonant is a w, visible only in the あ-row form 会わ-.
- Negative = 会わない, never ×会あない — and likewise the causative 会わせる and passive 会われる.
- Te-form / past = 会って ／ 会った (促音便, the small-っ doubling shared with つ- and る-verbs).
- The volitional lands on the お-row: 会おう (godan pattern), not the ichidan 〜よう.
- Only the literary 問う・請う break the doubling (問うて, not ×問って) — see the special -う verbs.
Now practice Japanese
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Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- 五段 Verbs: Class OverviewN5 — The canonical paradigm reference for the 五段 (godan / Type-1 / consonant-stem) class — the nine dictionary endings and the single mechanism behind every form: sliding the final kana across the あ・い・う・え・お rows.
- te/ta Sound-Change (音便) Master ChartN4 — The definitive euphonic-change reference: every verb ending mapped to its te and た form, with the three 音便 types, the voicing rule, and the single 行く exception.
- 問う・請う: The Archaic -う te/taN2 — The bookish -う verbs 問う and 請う keep the older ウ音便 in their te-form and past — 問うて／問うた, never ×問って — while every other form stays a regular ワ行五段.