Verbs or Nouns? Transform your Japanese studies 100x

Many wish to increase their vocabulary in the Japanese language, with verbs being one of the main focuses, as they allow us to express actions. There are some simple techniques that can triple your Japanese learning; let’s see these techniques in this guide.

The techniques in this article consist of transformations of words. Most Japanese words can be transformed into others. If you are aware of this, you can triple or quadruple your learning in Japanese.

All of this is done by transforming verbs into nouns, verbs into adjectives, adjectives into verbs, nouns into verbs, and vice versa. Some of these actions are super simple, while others require more caution. Ready to learn?

Transforming Adjectives and Nouns into Verbs

One of the most important verbs in the Japanese language is called suru [する], which means to do, perform, or cause. Through this verb, you can transform any noun, adjective, or word into a verb. Many Japanese verbs use suru.

Suru is an irregular verb that can be found in different conjugation forms such as:

Dictionary	する	suru
Formal	します	shimasu
Informal Past	した	shita
Formal Past	しました	shimashita
Informal Negative	しない	shinai
Formal Negative	しません	shimasen
Informal Past Negative	しなかった	shinakatta
Formal Past Negative	しませんでした	shimasendeshita
TE Form – て	して	shite
Conditional	すれば	sureba
Volitional	しよう	shiyou
Passive	される	sareru
Causative	させる	saseru
Potential	できる	dekiru
Imperative	しろ	shiro

Of course, there are numerous rules for transforming a noun into a verb; you can read some of these rules in our article about Suru e Shimasu – Creating Verbs in Japanese. There you will find a complete explanation of the subject.

When studying Japanese, always pay attention to verbs or words that end in suru and shimasu, because definitely by removing or adding such words, you learn another word, thus doubling your vocabulary. Here are some examples:

• Marriage “kekkon” [結婚] – To marry “kekkonsuru” [結婚する];
• Telephone “denwa” [電話] – To call “denwasuru” [電話する];

When studying a word in Japanese, always try to see if it becomes a verb or a noun.

Tip from Kevin

Normalization of Verbs in Japanese

Do you know what nominalization of verbs in Japanese is? The nominalization of verbs in Japanese is called doushi no meishika [動詞の名詞化] and should not be seen as a way to transform verbs into nouns.

Generally, particles like no [の] and koto [こと] are used to normalize sentences. There are different ways of normalization that we will not address in this article, because this article is focused on the transformation of verbs and nouns.

For me, nominalization is nothing more than a way to indicate the function of verbs in the sentence and not a new word as we have with verbs transformed into nouns in Portuguese. This also applies even to the verbs suru [する].

In the case of suru, you take a word and add suru [する] indicating that you are doing or perform a certain action, or in the case of dekiru [できる] where you are capable of doing a certain thing. You do not create any new verb or word, only when translating.

What few realize is that koto [こと] and no [の] followed by a verb do not literally transform it into a noun but rather complement it, being simply translated as an “act“.

Let it be clear that nominalization is not literally transforming a verb into a noun; this only happens when translating languages. Despite this, learning about the action of [こと] and [の] on verbs is still important, so let’s get started…

There are situations where koto [こと] or no [の] is completely necessary and useful to conjugate a verb in the middle of a sentence. In other situations, there is absolutely no sense in nominalizing.

What is the difference between no [の] and koto [こと]

The koto [こと] we are talking about in this article is the same as [事] which means thing. The koto is a conceptual, intangible thing, that is, something that cannot be touched, grasped, or held; something untouchable. It is regarded as a nominalization suffix.

On the other hand, no [の] is a Japanese particle with the main function of indicating that something belongs to another. But a [の] can also become a noun that serves to nominalize verbs and adjectives.

Both [の] and [こと] can be used in the same situations, but there are situations where only no [の] or koto [こと] can be used. Below we will see situations where only one of them can be used.

Cases where only koto [こと] can be used:

• When the following verbs involve communication or thoughts [話す, 約束する, 祈る, 伝える];
• When だ, です, and である follow the verb to be transformed [because of のだ];
• When the sentence is followed by [ができる] [がある] [にする] [になる];

Cases where only no [の] can be used:

• When the following verbs are [聞く, 聞こえる, 見る, 見える, 感んじる];
• When the following verbs are to stop [止める, やめる];
• When the following verbs are [待つ, 手伝う, じゃまする];

There are other rules and exceptions not covered, but to simplify, generally, the の is used when the external action happens in the same place or time as the internal action.

Renyoukei – Verbs that are actually nouns

Have you noticed in some sentences some long verbs that seem to be 2 verbs in one? This is called Renyoukei [連用形] or continuative form. This conjugation is used to join 2 verbs, as in the case of the verb hikudashi [引く出し].

The renyoukei has another very interesting function described in the video by ta68mada below. He says that we can use this form to learn new words, as in the case of monogatari [物語], which is also a verb [物語り].

There are many Japanese verbs that if we remove masu [ます] or [る], they become a noun. I will try to list below some words for you to understand how some verbs truly become nouns.

Besides [こと], many verbs end up becoming nouns with the help of [もの], which also means thing and really brings a more lateral idea, as in the examples food [食べ物] or drink [読み物], which could be literally translated as thing to eat or thing to drink.

• The verb hanashi [話し] can become hanashi [話], which instead of meaning to speak, becomes a tale or story.
• The verb yomi [飲み] can be a noun that means alcoholic drink.
• The verb viver [生き] can be a noun that means freshness, liveliness.

We conclude that if we remove [ます] from the verbs, it already becomes a noun. In some cases, the verb is being written with just one ideogram, but its reading is exactly the same as the masu form, as in the case of [話] and [物語].

Another way of verbs literally being used as nouns is in words like hanami [花見], which can be literally translated as "seeing flowers".

I hope this article has made it clear that transforming verbs into nouns is something simple and does not need to be confusing as many do. Just face Japanese as it is, without trying to translate or understand it like in Portuguese.

I hope you enjoyed this short article; if you did, share it and leave your comments. Don’t forget to visit my friend ta68mada. He has some amazing content that will change the way you view Japanese.

The video below talks exactly about transforming verbs into nouns:

Embedded video (YouTube)