Present and future
now, habits, and what is to come
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI live | ||
| NegativeI don’t live |
JAPANESE VERB
いきる
生きる
to live, to be alive
- #164 most used
- Ichidan verb (ru-verb)
Conjugation
Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.
Past
finished actions
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI lived | ||
| NegativeI didn’t live |
Te-form
て形 · joining actions, “doing”, requests
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| て-formliving, and… | ||
| Doing now (て います)I am living | ||
| Please (て ください)please live |
Potential
可能形 · “can”
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI can live | ||
| NegativeI can’t live |
Want to
たい形 · “want to”
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| AffirmativeI want to live | ||
| NegativeI don’t want to live |
Volitional
意向形 · “let’s”, “I’ll”
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| Let’slet’s live |
Conditional
条件形 · “if” and “when”
- If (ば) if I live
- If, when (たら) if I live
Commands and requests
命令形 · from gentle to blunt
- Do it (なさい) live (do it)
- Plain command live!
- Please don’t please don’t live
Passive and causative
受身形・使役形 · “is done”, “make someone do”
| Form | Polite | Plain |
|---|---|---|
| PassiveI am lived | ||
| CausativeI make someone live |
How to use いきる
One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.
-
Present and future
この かめ は ひゃくねん いきます。
This turtle lives a hundred years.
-
Past
そぼ は きゅうじゅうごさい まで いきた。
My grandmother lived to ninety-five.
-
Te-form
あの さかな は まだ いきて いる。
That fish is still alive.
-
Potential
ひと は みず なしで は いきられません。
People can't live without water.
-
Want to
わたし は じぶん らしく いきたい。
I want to live true to myself.
-
Volitional
きょう を たいせつ に いきよう。
Let's live today to the full.
-
Conditional
ながく いきれば、 いい こと も ある よ。
If you live long, good things come too.
-
Commands and requests
つよく いきなさい、 と はは に いわれた。
"Live strong," my mother told me.
-
Passive and causative
いきる いみ を がくせい に きかれた。
A student asked me the meaning of life.
Good to know
- いきる is to be alive; すむ is to live somewhere.
- いきる has no everyday passive or causative, so that sentence shows it beside another verb.
Verbs like this one
The same pattern, on other verbs: ichidan verb (ru-verb).