One of the most important verbs in the Japanese language is called suru [する] which means to do, to perform, or to cause. It is often used to turn any noun into a verb, in addition to being one of the most important elements of the Japanese language.
This raises many questions, are there rules for transforming words into verbs with suru? Can suru be used followed by a verb? In this complete guide we will answer these and other questions about suru in the Japanese language.
As the article is huge, I'll leave an index below to help you navigate through the article without getting lost:
Table of Contents
Conjugations of the verb Suru and Shimasu
Suru [する] is an irregular verb meaning "do" and in its polite (formal) form become shimasu [します] and can be conjugated in the following ways:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Dictionary | する | suru |
| Formal | します | shimasu |
| Informal Past | した | shita |
| Formal Past | しました | shimashita |
| Negative Informal | しない | shinai |
| Negative Formal | しません | shimasen |
| Informal Negative Past | しなかった | shinakatta |
| Formal Past Negative | しませんでした | shimasendeshita |
| Form – TE – て | して | shite |
| Conditional | すれば | sureba |
| Volitional | しよう | shiyou |
| ive | される | sareru |
| Causative | させる | saseru |
| Potential | できる | dekiru |
| Imperative | しろ | shiro |
Despite being mostly written in hiragana, the suru It has a kanji [為る] that means to do, change, certify, benefit, be helpful, achieve, try, practice, serve as, result, and advantage.
Different ways to use the verb suru
The verb する is one of the most used verbs in the Japanese language. One of its main functions is precisely to transform words into verbs. As in the case of marriage "kekkon" [結婚] which turns into to marry "kekkonsuru" [結婚する].
Besides transforming words into verbs and meaning to do, the verb suru ends up having several other meanings depending on how it is used. There are numerous uses that we will list below:
1 ) You can use [する] after a-adjectivei [い] in its adverbial form to say that it is doing something, for example:
adjective of [big] ooki [大き] becomes an adverb by adding the ku [く].
ookiku [大きく] means to increase.
ookikusuru [大きくする] means I'm turning up (for example, cell phone volume).
If it is a na [な] adjective, you simply replace na [な] with ni [に].
2 ) You can use the verb [する] to choose some alternative, when you're at a restaurant you can say koohi ni shimasu [コーヒーにします] which means "I am going to have a coffee".
3 ) The verb する can be used to talk about the length of time (lapse) in subordinate sentences and also about cost and values. Example: This cost ten thousand yen [これは一万円しました] which means "it cost 10,000 yen".4) When used with phrases related to appearance it can mean to appear.
4 ) The expression nisuru [にする] is used to indicate a change that happened by someone or something. Unlike [なる] which indicates that something has been transformed or changed by itself.
5 ) When used with words that emitem the senses such as smell, sound and taste, suru can cause the idea of the sense. For example, the phrase ii nioi ga suru [いい匂いがする] which means "smells good“. The same is true of words related to appearances.
AND) Some する verbs composed of only one kanji can be written without the [る]. An example is the verb to love [愛する] which can be written aisu [愛す] or the verb tassuru [達する] which can be written tassu [達す].
A する verb can be transitive or intransitive depending on context and usage.
Can any noun become a verb with suru [する]?
There is a class of nouns called "verb nouns" where most are words of Chinese origin written in kanji or foreign words written in katakana. In fact, evenJapanese onomatopoeias can turn into verbs [する].
Practically any noun can be turned into a verb using suru [する], there are no rules regarding this, but it requires knowledge and good sense for your conversation to make sense. 0
Suru [する] literally means to do, so no matter what noun you use, the listener will understand that you want to make that noun an action. It's just that there are words that are already verbal, so you won't speak utasuru [歌する] if it already exists sing [歌う].
Most of the time, nouns that do not have a verbal version are written with two or more characters. If you use suru [する or shite [して] in a word that doesn't make sense, you're saying you want to do that.
Even if you take a word of Chinese or foreign origin, you need to find out if there isn't already some Japanese verb ending in [う] that is more popular and well-known. Don't go around turning any word into a verb, even if that's possible.
The potential form of verbs suru is formed by the addition of can do instead of suru (I can do it)!
List of popular suru verbs
Now that you know that most Japanese words can become a kind of suru verb, let's list the most popular verbs in this category below. Words that are unlikely to have verb alternatives [う].
One way to check if the verb you are creating exists in Japanese is to write it in the jisho.org!
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| study | 勉強する | enkyousuru |
| frighten, surprise | びっくりする | bikkurisuru |
| hit | ノックする | nokkusuru |
| kiss | キスする | kisusuru |
| compare, contrast | 比較する | hikakusuru |
| drive | ドライブする | doraibusuru |
| enter | タイプする | taipusuru |
| explicar | 説明する | setsumeisuru |
| ask questions | 質問する | shitsumonsuru |
| make meal | 食事する | shokujisuru |
| Going shopping | 買い物する | kaimonosuru |
| wash | 洗濯する | sentakusuru |
| clear | 掃除する | soujisuru |
| oppose | 反対する | hantaisuru |
| to stroll | 散歩する | sanposuru |
| prepare | 準備する | junbisuru |
| promise | 約束する | yakusokusuru |
| Reserve | 予約する | yokakusuru |
| book, make ceremony | えんりょする | enryosuru |
| marry | 結婚する | kekkonsuru |
| request, make request | ちゅうもんする | chumonsuru |
| to telephone | 電話する | denwasuru |
| travel | 旅行する | ryokousuru |
Here's a list of more verbs or words that are transformed when using suru or shimasu:
Onomatopoeia + Suru
- yukkuri suru [ゆっくりする] - take a long time;
- katto suru [かっとする] - to ignite, to set on fire;
- zotto suru [ぞっとする] - to tremble, to scare
- bonyari suru [ぼんやりする] - to get distracted;
- niko niko suru [ニコニコする] - to smile;
- waku waku suru [ワクワクする] - to be excited, thrilled;
English words + Suru
- drive - to drive;
- type [タイプする] - to type;
- kisu suru [キスする] - to kiss;
- knocking - to knock;
- pasu suru [パスする] - ;
- hitto suru [ヒットする] - hit;
I hope you enjoyed this article about suru and shimasu verbs, that you understood the creation of verbs and their function. If you liked the article share with your friends, any suggestion, addition or question, leave it in the comments.
