In Japanese, the present tense and the future tense look exactly the same: there are no special endings, it’s just the dictionary form. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t tell if someone is talking about the present or future! Here is a quick summary of when you might want to use the so-called “non-past” or “present” tense in Japanese:
| Type of verb | “Non-past” form refers to… |
|---|---|
action or event (verbs that “happen”) | a future action / event a present habit / truth (with context) |
state (for a situation) | the present situation |
In this post, we’ll discuss how to use the present tense in Japanese to describe different sorts of situations, like habitual actions, future events, and states. We’ll also talk about how to use auxiliary verbs to add some supplemental information about when an action takes place. Let’s have a look!
The Japanese present tense: What is it and when to use it?
In Japanese, we often use the term “present tense” to refer to the dictionary form of the verb, because this form can be used to refer to the present situation. However, you’ll also hear it called the “nonpast tense” because this tense is not only used to talk about the present, but also about the future.
The rules for when exactly to use this tense depend on whether you’re using a verb for an action or event (verbs that “happen”) or with a verb for a state (which describe a situation). Let’s look at each group of verbs separately!
Verbs for actions and events
By default, the dictionary form of a verb for an action or event will describe a future action. However, with sufficient context it can also be used to represent a present habit or permanent truth. For example:
While the “context” that indicates the verb is intended to be habitual often comes in the form of a phrase, like 毎朝 meaning every day, it can also come from the circumstances around a sentence in conversation. Let’s look at some examples!
Notice how, in the examples below, the question Maki asks determines whether Yuki’s answer refers to a habit or a future action.
| Habitual | Future |
|---|---|
dictionary form Maki: ユイは生魚を食べるの？ Transcription: Yui wa namazakana o taberu no? Translation: Do you eat raw fish, Yui? Yui: （私は生魚を）食べるよ。 Transcription: (Watashi wa, namazakana o) taberu yo. Translation: I eat (raw fish). | dictionary form Maki: 今日は昼ごはん食べるの？ Transcription: Kyō wa hirugohan taberu no? Translation: Will you eat lunch today? Yui: （私は昼ごはんを）食べるよ。 Transcription: (Watashi wa, hirugohan o o) taberu yo. Translation: I will eat (lunch). |
Let's look at two more. In this case, the situation outside the conversation helps you decide whether the speaker is talking about a future event or a general truth.
| General Truth | Future |
|---|---|
The speaker is looking out the window at the pouring rain. dictionary form 雨が降りますね。 Transcription: Ame ga furimasu ne. Translation: It rains (a lot). | The speaker is looking at dark clouds above. It is not currently raining. dictionary form 雨が降りますね。 Transcription: Ame ga furimasu ne. Translation: It's going to rain. |
Remember, though, that without surrounding context, you should assume that a verb for an action or an event in its dictionary form describes a future action!
So the present tense is used for a future action or a habit. How, then, can you talk about an action-in-progress (e.g. “I am reading”)? We’ll talk about this a bit below. For now, though, let’s look at the dictionary form of stative verbs!
Verbs for states
The dictionary form of a verb representing a state, like “believe” or “to be,” generally represents the present situation. Some examples of Japanese stative verbs include: いる transcribed irumeaning be, ある transcribed arumeaning be, 違う transcribed chigaumeaning differ, or 思う transcribed omoumeaning think.
In some cases, the same verb might be used to describe either an action or a state. For example, 読む transcribed yomumeaning read is an action in a sentence with a meaning like “I read the book” but it can be a stative verb as well, with some context. The tense of these verbs must be determined from the context and time-indicating phrases.
In this sentence, 読む transcribed yomu is considered a stative verb, because she is not actually reading nor is she going to read. The verb here indicates an attribute the person has. Therefore, this sentence is in the present tense.
States without a verb
In Japanese, “to be” sentences with adjectives and nouns (e.g. “...is yellow” or “...is a teacher”) don’t use a verb. Here’s how to use nouns and adjectives to talk about a present state:
Adjectives → use the dictionary form
dictionary form（今日は）海が黒い。Transcription: (Kyou wa) umi ga kuroi.Translation: (Today) the sea is black.Nouns → Use the noun + だ transcribed da, which becomes です transcribed desu in its polite form
nounだ / です彼は会社員です。Transcription: Kare wa kaishain desu.Translation: He is an office worker.
Check out our introduction to Japanese adjectives and our post on the state-of-being in Japanese for more examples!
How to describe an action or event that is “in progress” in Japanese?
As we saw above, the present tense of a Japanese action or event verb will either represent a present habit or a future action. So how do we describe an action or event that is actively in progress, like “I am writing?”
To describe an action or event that is in progress you can use the -te iru form. The -te iru form is made by attaching a form of the helping verb いる transcribed iru to the te-form of the verb. For example:
| Dictionary form | -te iru form | polite -te iru form |
|---|---|---|
書く Transcription: kaku Translation: to write | 書いている Transcription: kaiteiru Translation: (is) writing | 書いています Transcription: kaiteimasu Translation: writing |
The -te iru form corresponds to the present continuous (“is verbing”) in English. For example:
What are some future tense markers in Japanese?
As you’ve seen, we use the present tense to talk about the future in Japanese. However there are some future markers, like auxiliary verbs, that we often add to a sentence about the future in order to provide some more specificity. Let’s have a look at a few of them.
だろう [darō]
We use だろう transcribed darō to indicate that the speaker is making a neutral guess for the future. It is added after the dictionary form of a verb or an adjective. The polite form is でしょう transcribed deshō.
Dictionary form Neutral future 読むTranscription: yomuTranslation: read読むだろうTranscription: yomudarōTranslation: will read寒いTranscription: samuiTranslation: (be) cold寒いでしょうTranscription: samuideshōTranslation: will be coldHere are some examples in sentences. Notice that both are fairly neutral, but they represent a speaker’s best guess about what will happen in the future.
verbdarō明日は雨が降るだろう。Transcription: Ashita wa ame ga furu darō.Translation: It will rain tomorrow.adjectivedarō明日は寒いだろう。Transcription: Ashita wa samui darō.Translation: It will be cold tomorrow.To use だろう transcribed darō to guess that something won't happen in the future, put the verb in its negative form (nai-form) before you add だろう transcribed darō or でしょう transcribed deshō.
negative (nai-form)darōジャイアンツは優勝しないだろう。Transcription: Jaiantsu wa yūshō shinai darō.Translation: The Giants will not win the championship.つもりだ [tsumorida] (intend to)
You can add つもりだ transcribed tsumoridameaning intend to after the dictionary form of a verb to express an intention for the future.
dictionary form私はその本を読むつもりだ。Transcription: Watashi wa sono hon o yomu tsumorida.Translation: I intend to read that book.To form a negative sentence, you can just add つもりだ transcribed tsumoridameaning intend to to the nai-form or you can follow the dictionary form with つもりはない transcribed tsumori wa nai.
dictionary form私はこの先彼を助けるつもりはない。Transcription: Watashi wa konosaki kare o tasukeru tsumori wa nai.Translation: I will not help him in the future.The polite negative form is ないつもりです transcribed nai tsumoridesu or つもりはありません transcribed tsumori wa arimasen.
かもしれない [kamoshirenai] (might, can’t tell if-)
かもしれない transcribed kamoshirenai represents a speaker’s uncertain prediction for the future. The polite form is かもしれません transcribed kamo shiremasen. It can also be applied after stative verbs or the dictionary form of an adjective.
dictionary form山下さんは遅刻するかもしれない。Transcription: Yamashita-san wa chikoku suru kamoshirenai.Translation: Mr. Yamashita might be late.明日はすこし寒いかもしれないから、上着を持っていくつもりだ。Transcription: Ashita wa sukoshi samui kamoshirenai kara uwagi o motteiku tsumorida.Translation: Tomorrow may be a little colder, so I will bring a jacket.マヤは図書館にいるかもしれない。Transcription: Maya wa toshokan ni iru kamoshirenai.Translation: Maya may be in the library.マヤは明日は図書館にいるかもしれない。Transcription: Maya wa ashita wa toshokan ni iru kamoshirenai.Translation: Maya may be in the library tomorrow.The negative form of かもしれない transcribed kamoshirenai is ないかもしれない transcribed nai kamoshirenai, and the polite form is ないかもしれません transcribed nai kamoshiremasen.
その台風は日本に来ないかもしれない。Transcription: Sono taifū wa nihon ni konai kamoshirenai.Translation: That typhoon may not come to Japan.
Summary
In this post, we've introduced you to the "present" or "nonpast" tense in Japanese. Here are the main points to remember:
In Japanese, the dictionary form of action verbs basically indicates the future tense.
To indicate the present tense, you can use an adverb or phrase, such as 毎朝 transcribed mai asameaning every morning to suggest the present time, or use the teiru-form to indicate actions that are taking place at present.
The dictionary form with habitual actions, stative verbs, adjectives, and “noun + だ transcribed da” indicate the present tense.
Auxiliary verbs can indicate the speaker's intention or speculation.
Ready to practice what you've learned? Check out our Japanese present tense activities to test your skills! Happy learning!
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