Japanese て-Form Complete Guide: How to Connect Verbs and Make Requests

2026年4月23日

The て-form (te-form) is one of the most important building blocks in Japanese. It lets you connect actions, make requests, express states, and much more. Master it once and use it everywhere.

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At a Glance: What て-Form Does

Use	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Connect actions	V-te + V	食べてから寝る	Eat, then sleep
Request	V-te + ください	来てください	Please come
Ongoing state	V-te + いる	食べている	Eating (now)
Permission	V-te + もいい	帰ってもいい	May I go home?
Prohibition	V-te + はいけない	入ってはいけない	Must not enter
Doing for someone	V-te + あげる/くれる/もらう	手伝ってくれた	(They) helped me

How to Form the て-Form

Verb Group	Rule	Example (dict → て)
Group 1 (u-verbs ending in く)	く → いて	書く → 書いて
Group 1 (ending in ぐ)	ぐ → いで	泳ぐ → 泳いで
Group 1 (ending in す)	す → して	話す → 話して
Group 1 (ending in ぬ/ぶ/む)	→ んで	飲む → 飲んで
Group 1 (ending in る/つ/う)	→ って	買う → 買って
Group 2 (ru-verbs)	る → て	食べる → 食べて
Irregular	Special forms	する → して / くる → きて

Yuka

The て-form conjugation rules look complicated. Any tricks to remember them?

Rei

The easiest way: for Group 1 verbs, look at the last sound before る or the final syllable. If it ends in む/ぬ/ぶ, add んで. If it ends in く, add いて. If it ends in う/つ/る, add って. And Group 2 (ru-verbs) are simple — just drop る and add て!

Yuka

What about 行く (iku)? It ends in く but the て-form is 行って, not 行いて…

Rei

Great catch! 行く is an exception — its て-form is 行って, not 行いて. It’s the only く-verb with this exception. Just memorize 行く → 行って separately.

Using て-Form to Connect Actions

String actions together to express a sequence: A happened, then B.

シャワーを浴びて、朝ご飯を食べた。 — I took a shower, then ate breakfast.

駅で電車を降りて、歩いて学校に行った。 — I got off the train at the station and walked to school.

〜てください — Polite Requests

V-te + ください is the standard polite way to make requests.

ここに座ってください。 — Please sit here.

名前を書いてください。 — Please write your name.

〜ている — Actions in Progress

V-te + いる expresses an ongoing action or a resulting state.

Ongoing: 今、食べています。 — I am eating now.

Resulting state: 結婚しています。 — I am married. (= the state of having gotten married)

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Correct	Note
行いて (iku te-form)	行って	行く is the exception — always 行って
食べてください for casual requests	食べて (drop ください)	Between close friends, just use the bare て-form
Using て-form for simultaneous actions always	Use ながら for simultaneous	〜てから = sequential; 〜ながら = at the same time