来る（くる, to come）is the second and last of Japanese's two irregular verbs, alongside する. Its irregularity is unusually cruel to learners because it hides in plain sight: the kanji 来 never changes, but its reading does — it is read く, き, or こ depending on the form. So 来る is kuru, but 来ない is konai (not ×kunai), 来ます is kimasu, and the imperative is the irregular 来い (koi). The written form gives you almost no warning; you simply have to know which reading each slot takes. This page fixes every reading in place.
The full paradigm — watch the reading column
| Form (Japanese term) | 来る | Reading | Row of 来 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary (辞書形) | 来る | kuru | く |
| Polite (ます形) | 来ます | kimasu | き |
| Negative (ない形) | 来ない | konai | こ |
| Past (た形) | 来た | kita | き |
| te-form (て形) | 来て | kite | き |
| Potential (可能形) | 来られる | korareru | こ |
| Passive (受身形) | 来られる | korareru | こ |
| Causative (使役形) | 来させる | kosaseru | こ |
| Volitional (意向形) | 来よう | koyō | こ |
| Conditional (仮定形・ば) | 来れば | kureba | く |
| Imperative (命令形) | 来い | koi | こ |
Why beginners misread 来ない as ×kunai
The single most common error with this verb is reading the negative 来ない as ×kunai, by analogy with the dictionary 来る (kuru). It is konai. The negative sits on the こ reading, not the く reading, and there is no visual cue in the kanji to warn you. This one form catches essentially every learner at least once.
彼は今日、たぶん来ない。
kare wa kyō, tabun konai
He probably isn't coming today.
明日は誰も来ないと思う。
ashita wa daremo konai to omou
I don't think anyone's coming tomorrow.
Compare the dictionary and polite forms, which take く and き:
毎年、冬になると渡り鳥が来る。
maitoshi, fuyu ni naru to wataridori ga kuru
Every year, migratory birds come when winter arrives. (dictionary — kuru)
バスはすぐ来ますか。
basu wa sugu kimasu ka
Will the bus come soon? (polite — kimasu)
The き group: 来て and 来た
The te-form 来て (kite) and the past 来た (kita) both ride the polite き stem — the same 来（き）that gives 来ます. Do not let the こ of the negative bleed into these; 来た is kita, not ×kota.
あ、電車が来た。急ごう。
a, densha ga kita. isogō
Oh, the train's here. Let's hurry. (past — kita)
ちょっとこっちに来て。見せたいものがある。
chotto kocchi ni kite. misetai mono ga aru
Come here a sec — there's something I want to show you. (te-form — kite)
The こ group: potential, passive, causative, volitional
Everything on the "irrealis" side takes こ. The potential and passive collapse into the same 来られる (korareru), exactly as they do for 一段 verbs — context disambiguates. The causative is 来させる (kosaseru), the volitional 来よう (koyō).
明日のパーティー、来られる？
ashita no pātī, korareru?
Can you come to the party tomorrow? (potential — korareru)
朝早くに友達に来られて、まだ寝てたのに。
asa hayaku ni tomodachi ni korarete, mada neteta noni
A friend showed up early on me, and I was still asleep. (adversative passive — korareru)
子供を無理に塾に来させるのは良くない。
kodomo o muri ni juku ni kosaseru no wa yokunai
Forcing a kid to come to cram school isn't good. (causative — kosaseru)
この店、気に入った。また来よう。
kono mise, ki ni itta. mata koyō
I liked this place. Let's come again. (volitional — koyō)
For the honorific "(a respected person) comes," 来られる is grammatically available, but native speakers overwhelmingly prefer the suppletive いらっしゃる or お越しになる（おこしになる）, both to add warmth and to sidestep the potential/passive ambiguity.
The く group: dictionary and conditional
Only two forms keep the く reading: the dictionary 来る (kuru) and the ば-conditional 来れば (kureba). The conditional is the one learners most often misread — 来れば is kureba, not ×koreba.
早く来れば、いい席が取れるよ。
hayaku kureba, ii seki ga toreru yo
If you come early, you can get a good seat. (conditional — kureba)
The irregular imperative: 来い (koi)
The imperative is 来い (koi) — irregular, and read on the こ row. A learner who has just met the 一段 imperative 見ろ／食べろ may reach for ×来ろ (koro); it does not exist. 来い is blunt and forceful, the command bark, and it lives in a few set expressions you will hear constantly.
そこの君、ちょっとこっちに来い。
soko no kimi, chotto kocchi ni koi
You there — come over here a moment. (blunt command — koi)
かかってこい！
kakatte koi!
Bring it on! (a fixed challenge phrase built on the imperative 来い)
Because 来い is harsh, in ordinary polite life you soften it to 来て or 来てください rather than order someone with 来い. Note also the causative-passive 来させられる (kosaserareru, "be made to come"), which stacks on the こ stem:
休みの日なのに、会社に来させられた。
yasumi no hi na noni, kaisha ni kosaserareta
Even though it was my day off, I was made to come in to the office. (causative-passive — kosaserareru)
Common mistakes
❌ 彼は来ない。
kare wa kunai
Wrong reading — 来ない here is konai, not kunai. The negative sits on the こ row; there's no kunai reading for 来.
✅ 彼は来ない。
kare wa konai
He isn't coming.
❌ もう電車が来た。
mō densha ga kota
Wrong reading — 来た is kita, on the き row (the same き as 来ます), not kota.
✅ もう電車が来た。
mō densha ga kita
The train's already here.
❌ また来よう。
mata kuyō
Wrong reading — the volitional 来よう is koyō, on the こ row, not kuyō. Only the dictionary and conditional keep く.
✅ また来よう。
mata koyō
Let's come again.
❌ こっちに来ろ！
Wrong — 来る's imperative is the irregular 来い (koi). The 一段-style ×来ろ doesn't exist for this verb.
✅ こっちに来い！
kocchi ni koi!
Come over here!
Key takeaways
- 来る is irregular; the kanji 来 is invariant but its reading shifts く／き／こ with the form.
- く = dictionary 来る (kuru) and conditional 来れば (kureba); き = the polite-stem group 来ます・来て・来た (kimasu/kite/kita); こ = negative, potential, passive, causative, volitional, imperative.
- The classic trap is reading 来ない as ×kunai — it is konai; likewise 来よう is koyō, not ×kuyō.
- The imperative is the irregular 来い (koi), never ×来ろ; it is blunt, so soften to 来て in polite speech.
- Potential and passive share 来られる (korareru); for the honorific, native speakers prefer suppletive いらっしゃる.
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