The te-form feels like a wall to beginners because it seems to have a dozen rules. It does not. It has six. This page gathers all of them into one reference, organized around the mnemonic that Japanese classrooms around the world chant until it is automatic. Learn the ending→connector map here and you can build the te-form of thousands of verbs without ever memorizing them one by one.
The mnemonic
Generations of learners have set this to a tune (most famously to the melody of Santa Lucia). You do not need the song — you need the map. Group godan verbs by their final dictionary kana:
| Dictionary ending | te-form connector | Model verb |
|---|---|---|
| う・つ・る | → って | 買う → 買って |
| む・ぬ・ぶ | → んで | 読む → 読んで |
| く | → いて | 書く → 書いて |
| ぐ | → いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで |
| す | → して | 話す → 話して |
Chant it as five beats: "う・つ・る って, む・ぬ・ぶ んで, く いて, ぐ いで, す して." That is the whole godan system. Add the ichidan rule and the two irregulars and you are done.
コンビニでお茶を買って、公園で飲んだ。
konbini de ocha o katte, kōen de nonda
I bought tea at the convenience store and drank it in the park.
この本を読んで、感想を聞かせて。
kono hon o yonde, kansō o kikasete
Read this book and let me hear what you think.
The complete table
Here is every rule in one place — the six patterns that generate the entire lexicon's te-forms. Every cell is worth checking against your own memory.
| Class / ending | Rule | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| godan う | → って | 買う → 買って | kau → katte |
| godan つ | 待つ → 待って | matsu → matte | |
| godan る | 取る → 取って | toru → totte | |
| godan む | → んで | 読む → 読んで | yomu → yonde |
| godan ぬ | 死ぬ → 死んで | shinu → shinde | |
| godan ぶ | 遊ぶ → 遊んで | asobu → asonde | |
| godan く | → いて | 書く → 書いて | kaku → kaite |
| godan ぐ | → いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで | oyogu → oyoide |
| godan す | → して | 話す → 話して | hanasu → hanashite |
| ichidan | drop る, + て | 食べる → 食べて | taberu → tabete |
| irregular | memorize | する → して | suru → shite |
| irregular | memorize | 来る → 来て | kuru → kite |
| Exception: 行く → 行って (iku → itte), the only く-verb that takes って. | |||
名前をここに書いてください。
namae o koko ni kaite kudasai
Please write your name here.
海で泳いで、真っ黒に日焼けした。
umi de oyoide, makkuro ni hiyake shita
I swam in the sea and got completely tanned.
すみません、もう少しゆっくり話してくれますか。
sumimasen, mō sukoshi yukkuri hanashite kuremasu ka
Sorry, could you speak a little more slowly?
The two easy classes
Two whole groups need no onbin at all. Ichidan verbs drop る and add て. The two irregulars are simply learned.
朝ごはんを食べて、学校へ行った。
asagohan o tabete, gakkō e itta
I ate breakfast and went to school.
準備をして、朝早く出発した。
junbi o shite, asa hayaku shuppatsu shita
I got ready and set off early in the morning.
駅まで迎えに来てくれる？
eki made mukae ni kite kureru?
Could you come pick me up at the station?
Remember that する pulls every noun-compound with it (勉強して, 電話して), and 来る keeps its kanji frozen while the reading shifts to kite — both detailed on the irregulars page.
The insight: it all reduces to six rules
Step back and count. Despite the ten rows above, there are only six distinct patterns:
- って (the う・つ・る 促音便 — a doubled consonant)
- んで (the む・ぬ・ぶ 撥音便 — a nasal, voiced)
- いて (the く イ音便 — a vowel softening)
- いで (the ぐ イ音便, voiced)
- して (す, no change at all)
- て (ichidan and, separately, the memorized irregulars)
Three onbin shapes (って／んで／いて・いで), plus flat す→して, plus ichidan +て, plus する・来る. A handful of patterns that, once internalized, spit out the te-form of any verb you meet. English speakers are used to memorizing irregular verbs individually ("go/went, buy/bought"); Japanese asks you to memorize the sorting rule instead, and then the verbs sort themselves.
The two gotchas everyone forgets
Two points slip through even after the song is memorized. Drill them separately.
Gotcha 1 — 行く → 行って. By its final kana, 行く should give ×行いて. It doesn't. This single verb behaves like a つ/る-verb and takes って. It is the only く-exception, and it happens to be one of the most common verbs in the language, so mastering it matters more than its rarity suggests.
急いで駅まで行って、ぎりぎり電車に乗った。
isoide eki made itte, girigiri densha ni notta
I hurried to the station and just barely caught the train.
Gotcha 2 — the voicing split. The connector voices to で after the voiced endings ぐ・ぶ・む・ぬ, and stays て everywhere else. Say the ending out loud: if it buzzes (ぐ, ぶ, む), so does the connector. 泳ぐ → 泳いで, not ×泳いて; 読む → 読んで, not ×読んて.
Common mistakes
❌ 急いで駅まで行いて、電車に乗った。
isoide eki made iite, densha ni notta
Incorrect — 行く is the famous exception; it takes って, not いて.
✅ 急いで駅まで行って、電車に乗った。
isoide eki made itte, densha ni notta
I hurried to the station and caught the train.
❌ この本を読んて、感想を教えて。
kono hon o yonte, kansō o oshiete
Incorrect — む is voiced, so the connector must voice: 読んで.
✅ この本を読んで、感想を教えて。
kono hon o yonde, kansō o oshiete
Read this book and tell me what you think.
❌ 名前を書いで、はんこを押してください。
namae o kaide, hanko o oshite kudasai
Incorrect — く is unvoiced, so it stays いて; only ぐ gives いで.
✅ 名前を書いて、はんこを押してください。
namae o kaite, hanko o oshite kudasai
Please write your name and stamp your seal.
❌ ケーキを半分に切て、二人で食べた。
kēki o hanbun ni kite, futari de tabeta
Incorrect — 切る is a godan る-verb, so it takes って, not just て.
✅ ケーキを半分に切って、二人で食べた。
kēki o hanbun ni kitte, futari de tabeta
I cut the cake in half and we ate it together.
Key takeaways
- Six rules generate everything: って, んで, いて, いで, して, and +て (ichidan / irregulars).
- Chant the godan song: う・つ・る って ／ む・ぬ・ぶ んで ／ く いて ／ ぐ いで ／ す して.
- Ichidan: drop る, add て. Irregulars: する → して, 来る → 来て (kite).
- Gotcha 1: 行く → 行って (never ×行いて).
- Gotcha 2: voiced endings ぐ・ぶ・む・ぬ take で; everything else takes て.
- The た-form is the same map with た/だ instead of て/で.
Now practice Japanese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- Godan う・つ・る → ってN4 — The first godan te-form group: verbs ending in う, つ, or る take the doubling change (促音便) to form って — 買う→買って, 待つ→待って, 取る→取って — plus the る-verb trap.
- Godan む・ぶ・ぬ → んでN4 — The second godan te-form group: verbs ending in む, ぶ, or ぬ take the nasal change (撥音便) to form んで — and crucially the connector voices from て to で: 読む→読んで, 遊ぶ→遊んで, 死ぬ→死んで.
- Godan く → いて (and 行く → 行って)N4 — The く te-form group: godan verbs ending in く soften to いて via the i-vowel change (イ音便) — 書く→書いて, 聞く→聞いて — with the one high-frequency exception you must memorize, 行く→行って.
- The て/た Parallel: One Machinery, Two FormsN4 — The plain past た-form uses exactly the same sound-changes as the て-form — learn one and you get the other for free, along with the たら conditional and たり listing.