Japanese Imperative Form
We haven’t learned this in class yet. But it’s not too bad.
Sources:
Takoboto JP/ENG Dictionary
Distal
Structure: Take i-form of the verbal, add なさい
Uses: The distal style is used to issue a command in a softer way/tone.
私を見なさい - “Look at / watch me”
野菜を買いなさい - “Buy vegetables”
ここに座って宿題をしなさい - “Sit here and do your homework”
Shorter Version: You can shorten the ending from なさい to just な. Makes it more casual.
出来ると思えば、頑張りな - “If you think you can do it, do your best”
それだったら、出な - “If that is the case, leave”
Direct
Structure: Modify verbal in the following way
Ichidan - Change ending る to ろ
Godan - Change ending kana to corresponding え sound.
Exceptions する => しろ, くる => こい, くれる => くれ
Uses: Used for an actual command. Not used very often because this is extremely confrontational.
私と同じを書け - “Write it the same as me!”
歌を正しく歌え - “Sing the song correctly!”
彼がまた逃げたら、殺せ - “If he runs away again, kill him!”
今すぐ、食べろ - “Eat right now!”
Negative
Structure: Add な after the dictionary form
Also, my dictionary has i-form + なさるな as a more formal version. I guess it kinda makes sense, since なさる is an honorific of する, which is conjugated to get なさい (which we used with the i-form earlier). Adding な onto なさる gets us なさるな which kinda makes sense for “do not do X”
Uses: Used for a negative command. Still quite commanding. If you want softer you could try the more polite version, but I’m not sure how often that one is still used. But theres always the request form you can use (not in this entry).
午後１時まで、これを食べるな - “Don’t eat this until 1 PM”
今夜、７時から１１時まで僕の部屋に入るな - “Don’t enter my room from 7 to 11 tonight”
高い物を買うな - “Don’t buy expensive things!”
Careful: This な is similar to the shortened なさい, and to the sentence particle な (not in this entry).
Vocab:
Here are some kanji from the lessons that I wasn’t really familiar with at this point:
殺す - The second radical means weapon. Treasure + Angel + Weapon = kill? Means “to kill”. Pronounced “korosu”
逃げる - Means “to escape” / “to run away”. Pronounced “nigeru”