other N5 essential casualpolitewritten
来る — to come (irregular verb)
来る ・ くる
Meaning
- come — move toward the speaker; one of Japanese's two irregular verbs, whose stem reading shifts
Key sentence
友だちが家に来る。
A friend is coming to my house.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary form | 来る | 来る (come) |
| Negative (ない-form) | 来ない | 来ない (not come) |
| Polite (ます-form) | 来ます | 来ます (come) |
| た-form / て-form | 来た / 来て | 来た (came) |
| Volitional | 来よう | 来よう (let's come) |
Examples
明日は来ないでください。
Please don't come tomorrow.
彼女はもう来ました。
She has already come.
早く来い！
Come quickly!
When you can't use it
- 来る is irregular: the kanji 来 is read く, こ, or き depending on the form (来る / 来ない / 来ます). Don't conjugate it like a regular る-verb — ×来る, ×来ない are wrong.
Easily confused with
Notes
- With する, 来る is one of the two irregular verbs every learner memorizes first.
See 来る in real sentences
Jengo shows 来る the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.