Japanese verb · ru-verb · first needed at elementary level (A2)
見せる
miseru
to show
The person you show something to takes (ni): (tomodachi ni shashin o miseru). (misete kudasai) is the everyday “please show me”.
Present
現在形
Now, habits and the future. The plain form is for friends and family; polite ～ます is the default.
| plain | 見せるmiseru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 見せますmisemasu | |
| plain negative | 見せないmisenai | |
| polite negative | 見せませんmisemasen |
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 | 見せたmiseta | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 見せましたmisemashita | |
| plain negative | 見せなかったmisenakatta | |
| polite negative | 見せませんでしたmisemasen deshita |
Te-form
て形
Joins actions (“and then”) and builds ～ています (doing now), ～てください (please do) and ～てもいいですか (may I).
| te-form | 見せてmisete | |
|---|---|---|
| -te imasu (doing now) | 見せていますmisete imasu | |
| -te kudasai (please do) | 見せてくださいmisete kudasai | |
| -te mo ii desu ka (may I) | 見せてもいいですかmisete 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) | 見せようmiseyō | |
|---|---|---|
| polite (let's) | 見せましょうmisemashō | |
| polite (shall we?) | 見せましょうかmisemashō ka |
Potential
可能形
Can show: (hito ni wa miserarenai), I can't show it to anyone. Same form as the passive.
| plain | 見せられるmiserareru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 見せられますmiseraremasu | |
| plain negative | 見せられないmiserarenai | |
| polite negative | 見せられませんmiseraremasen |
Passive
受身形
Being shown something, often unwillingly: (ryokō no shashin o nanjūmai mo miserareta), I was shown dozens of holiday photos.
| plain | 見せられるmiserareru | |
|---|---|---|
| polite | 見せられますmiseraremasu | |
| plain negative | 見せられないmiserarenai | |
| polite negative | 見せられませんmiseraremasen |
Conditional
条件形
If: ～ば for general conditions, ～たら for “if” and “when, once”, ～なければ for “if not”.
| -ba | 見せればmisereba | |
|---|---|---|
| -tara | 見せたらmisetara | |
| -nakereba (if not) | 見せなければmisenakereba |
Examples
- パスポートを見せてください。Pasupōto o misete kudasai.Please show me your passport.
- 友達に旅行の写真を見せました。Tomodachi ni ryokō no shashin o misemashita.I showed my friend the photos from my trip.
- その写真、見せて。Sono shashin, misete.Show me that photo.