Japanese Verb Conjugations - Matsu

Conjugating the Japanese Verb "To Wait"

Japanese business persons greeting each other — franckreporter / Getty Images

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Updated on November 04, 2019

If you're in a Japanese-speaking community, knowing the Japanese word for "to wait" can come in handy in terms of everyday interactions. Maybe you're running late to a social event and need to apologize for keeping people waiting, or perhaps you have to push back a meeting at work for a few minutes. Maybe the host at a restaurant needs to ask you to wait before being seated.

These charts will help you learn about verb groups and conjugations for the Japanese verb "matsu", which means "to wait".

If you are not familiar with Japanese verb groups and conjugations, it is recommended that you click here for a review before you learn individual verb conjugations.

Matsu Verb Conjugation

matsu (to wait): Group 1
Informal Present (Dictionary Form)	matsu 待つ
Formal Present (~ masu Form)	machimasu 待ちます
Informal Past (~ ta Form)	matta 待った
Formal Past	machimashita 待ちました
Informal Negative (~ nai Form)	matanai 待たない
Formal Negative	machimasen 待ちません
Informal Past Negative	matanakatta 待たなかった
Formal Past Negative	machimasen deshita 待ちませんでした
~ te Form	matte 待って
Conditional	mateba 待てば
Volitional	matou 待とう
Passive	matareru 待たれる
Causative	mataseru 待たせる
Potential	materu 待てる
Imperative (Command)	mate 待て

Sentence Examples

Matasete gomennasai. 待たせてごめんなさい。	I am sorry to keep you waiting.
Koko de matte kudasai. ここで待ってください。	Please wait here.
Mou sukoshi materu? もう少し待てる？	Can you wait a little longer?