dictionary (plain non-past) form and its uses

The dictionary form is the plain non-past form listed in dictionaries: iku, taberu, suru. In casual speech it replaces the masu form, and it appears before patterns like mae ni, tsumori, and koto. Learning it is the key to all further conjugation.

Examples

• 明日あした、京都きょうとへ行いく。

  Ashita, Kyouto e iku.

  I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow.

• 趣味しゅみは本ほんを読よむことです。

  Shumi wa hon o yomu koto desu.

  My hobby is reading books.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 明日 tomorrow
• 行く to go
• 趣味 hobby
• 本 book
• 読む to read

Related patterns · Verb forms

• 〜ます polite non-past verb form
• 〜ません polite negative (do not / will not)
• 〜ました / 〜ませんでした polite past (did / did not)
• 〜ない plain negative verb form
• 〜た plain past verb form
• 〜たことがあります have done (something) before (experience)