Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 22nd issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

〜よう (Volitional Form)

Verb Form Grammar Equations

〜よう (You) is a verb suffix that expresses volition, proposition, or invitation, akin to "let's" or "shall we?" in English.

Table of Contents

1. The Basics

2. Conjugating Verbs to Take 〜よう

   • Godan Verbs

   • Ichidan Verbs

   • Irregular Verbs

3. Fundamental Uses of 〜よう

   • Proposing and Inviting

   • Expressing Your Will

4. Beyond the Basics

   • 〜よう in the Negative

   • Guesses and Assumptions

The Basics

〜よう is a verb suffix that adds a meaning of volition or invitation to a verb.

Depending on the context, it might add a meaning of "I will do X," "let's do X," or "shall we do X?" to the sentence.

For example, you can say 飲もう！(nomou!) (Let's drink!) after a long day of work.

You can also use it in a question to invite someone along, like 飲みに行こうか？(nomi ni ikou ka?) (Shall we go for a drink?) 🍻 

This form is often referred to as the volitional form, derived from "volition," meaning to have will or purpose.

Conjugating Verbs to Take 〜よう

Let's explore how to conjugate verbs with 〜よう. Depending on the verb's conjugation group, 〜よう might take a slightly different form. See if you can identify which group deviates from simply adding 〜よう to the verb:

Godan Verbs (U-Verbs)

• 会う (au) → 会おう (aou) (Let's meet)

• 立つ (tatsu) → 立とう (tatou) (Let's stand)

• 写す (utsusu) → 写そう (utsusou) (Let's copy)

• 割る (waru) → 割ろう (warou) (Let's break)

• 書く (kaku) → 書こう (kakou) (Let's write)

• 泳ぐ (oyogu) → 泳ごう (oyogou) (Let's swim)

• 死ぬ (shinu) → 死のう (shinou) (Let's die)

• 学ぶ (manabu) → 学ぼう (manabou) (Let's learn)

• 休む (yasumu) → 休もう (yasumou) (Let's rest)

Ichidan Verbs (Ru-Verbs)

• 食べる (taberu) → 食べよう (tabeyou) (Let's eat)

• 起きる (okiru) → 起きよう (okiyou) (Let's wake up)

• 閉じる (tojiru) → 閉じよう (tojiyou) (Let's close)

Irregular Verbs

• 来る (kuru) → 来よう (koyou) (Let's come)

• する (suru) → しよう (shiyou) (Let's do)

Godan Verbs

Godan verbs often make things a bit more complicated! Instead of simply adding 〜よう, we need to transform the character at the end of the verb in its plain form to the corresponding お-column character on the kana chart.

Then we add 〜う. For example, if the plain form ending of your verb is く (ku), the new ending will be 〜こう (kou).

Let's take the verb 歩く (aruku), which means "to walk," and change it to "let's walk" as an example:

• 歩く (aruku) → 歩こう (arukou) (Let's walk)

Ichidan Verbs

For ichidan verbs, replace the 〜る ending with 〜よう:

• 食べる (taberu) + よう (you) = 食べよう (tabeyou) (Let's eat)

Irregular Verbs

• 来る (kuru) becomes 来よう (koyou)

• する (suru) becomes しよう (shiyou)

Fundamental Uses of 〜よう

Proposing and Inviting

Use 〜よう to propose or invite someone to do something, often translated as "let's" or "shall we...?":

• 動物園に行こう！(doubutsuen ni ikou!) (Let's go to the zoo!)

• そろそろ動物園に行こう？(sorosoro doubutsuen ni ikou?) (Shall we get going to the zoo?)

• そろそろ動物園に行こうか。(sorosoro doubutsuen ni ikou ka?) (Shall we get going to the zoo?) (More gruff or masculine tone)

In slogans:

• 地球を守ろう！(chikyuu wo mamorou!) (Save the Earth!)

• 守ろう、地球を！(mamorou, chikyuu wo!) (Let's save the Earth!)

Expressing Your Will

Use 〜よう to express your intention to perform an action:

• 私がカレーを作ろう。(watashi ga karee wo tsukurou.) (I'll make the curry.)

To soften the statement:

• 私がカレーを作ろうか。(watashi ga karee wo tsukurou ka?) (Shall I make the curry?)

• 私がカレーを作ろうと思う。(watashi ga karee wo tsukurou to omou.) (I think I'll make the curry.)

Beyond the Basics

〜よう in the Negative

To say "let's not do something," use 〜ないでおこう or combine with やめる/よす:

• やっぱり動物園には行かないでおこう。(yappari doubutsuen ni wa ikanai de okou.) (Let's actually not go to the zoo.)

• やっぱり動物園に行くのはやめよう。(yappari doubutsuen ni iku no wa yameyou.) (Let's actually not go to the zoo.)

• やっぱり動物園に行くのはよそう。(yappari doubutsuen ni iku no wa yosou.) (Let's actually not go to the zoo.)

• やっぱり動物園に行くのはやめておこう。(yappari doubutsuen ni iku no wa yamete okou.) (Let's actually not go to the zoo.)

• やっぱり動物園に行くのはよしておこう。(yappari doubutsuen ni iku no wa yoshite okou.) (Let's actually not go to the zoo.)

Guesses and Assumptions

When combined with ある (aru), 〜よう indicates a guess or assumption:

• 彼女の方にも色々と文句があろう。(kanojo no hou ni mo iroiro to monku ga arou.) (I suppose she has many complaints on her side too.)

• こんなこともあろう(か)と思って、これを持ってきたんだよ。(konna koto mo arou (ka) to omotte, kore wo motte kitan da yo.) (I guessed this might be the case, so I've brought this.)

That’s all folks!

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)

Have a great Sunday!