Japanese verb · u-verb · first needed at beginner level (A1)
働く
hataraku
to work
A u-verb ending in く: the te-form is (hataraite). The workplace takes (de): (ginkō de hataraku).
Present
現在形
Now, habits and the future. The plain form is for friends and family; polite ～ます is the default.
| plain | 働くhataraku | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 働きますhatarakimasu | |
| plain negative | 働かないhatarakanai | |
| polite negative | 働きませんhatarakimasen |
Past
過去形
What happened, or what has happened. The plain form is for friends and family; polite ～ました is the default.
| plain | 働いたhataraita | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 働きましたhatarakimashita | |
| plain negative | 働かなかったhatarakanakatta | |
| polite negative | 働きませんでしたhatarakimasen deshita |
Te-form
て形
Joins actions and builds requests and permission. (hataraite imasu) also means “works (as a job)”.
| te-form | 働いてhataraite | |
|---|---|---|
| -te imasu (doing now) | 働いていますhataraite imasu | |
| -te kudasai (please do) | 働いてくださいhataraite kudasai | |
| -te mo ii desu ka (may I) | 働いてもいいですかhataraite mo ii desu ka |
Volitional
意向形
Let's: the plain form between friends, ～ましょう in polite speech. ～ましょうか suggests (shall we?) or offers help (shall I?).
| plain (let's) | 働こうhatarakō | |
|---|---|---|
| polite (let's) | 働きましょうhatarakimashō | |
| polite (shall we?) | 働きましょうかhatarakimashō ka |
Potential
可能形
Can work: (shūmatsu mo hatarakemasu), I can work at weekends too.
| plain | 働けるhatarakeru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 働けますhatarakemasu | |
| plain negative | 働けないhatarakenai | |
| polite negative | 働けませんhatarakemasen |
Causative
使役形
Making or letting someone work: (musume o mise de hatarakaseru), to let my daughter work in the shop.
| plain | 働かせるhatarakaseru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 働かせますhatarakasemasu | |
| plain negative | 働かせないhatarakasenai | |
| polite negative | 働かせませんhatarakasemasen |
Conditional
条件形
If: ～ば for general conditions, ～たら for “if” and “when, once”, ～なければ for “if not”.
| -ba | 働けばhatarakeba | |
|---|---|---|
| -tara | 働いたらhataraitara | |
| -nakereba (if not) | 働かなければhatarakanakereba |
Examples
- 父は銀行で働いています。Chichi wa ginkō de hataraite imasu.My father works at a bank.
- 週に五日働きます。Shū ni itsuka hatarakimasu.I work five days a week.
- 昨日は十時間働きました。Kinō wa jūjikan hatarakimashita.I worked ten hours yesterday.