Compound Verbs複合動詞
Compound verbs (複合動詞) combine a verb’s ます-stem (連用形) with a second verb to create new meanings: 食べ始める (begin eating), 走り続ける (keep running), 飲み過ぎる (drink too much). Japanese has hundreds of these combinations, but mastering about 15 core patterns covers the vast majority of daily usage. These patterns let you express aspect (beginning, continuing, finishing), degree (too much, easy, hard), and manner with precision.
Compound verbs (複合動詞) combine a verb’s ます-stem (連用形) with a second verb to create new meanings: 食べ始める (begin eating), 走り続ける (keep running), 飲み過ぎる (drink too much). Japanese has hundreds of these combinations, but mastering about 15 core patterns covers the vast majority of daily usage. These patterns let you express aspect (beginning, continuing, finishing), degree (too much, easy, hard), and manner with precision.
How compound verbs work
Take the ます-stem of the first verb (remove -ます from the polite form) and attach the second verb directly. 食べます → 食べ (stem) + 始める → 食べ始める. 走ります → 走り (stem) + 続ける → 走り続ける. The second verb determines the conjugation group of the whole compound: 食べ始める conjugates like 始める (ichidan).
～始める (hajimeru) — begin to
Marks the start of an action: 雨が降り始めた (It started raining), 日本語を勉強し始めた (I started studying Japanese), 桜が咲き始めた (The cherry blossoms started blooming). Conjugates as ichidan. vs ～出す: 始める is a deliberate, expected beginning. 出す (below) is a sudden, unexpected start.
～続ける (tsuzukeru) — continue to
Marks continuation of an action: 3時間も走り続けた (Kept running for 3 whole hours), 雨が降り続けている (It keeps raining), 彼は黙り続けた (He kept silent). Conjugates as ichidan. Implies sustained effort or persistence.
～終わる (owaru) — finish
Marks completion: 本を読み終わった (I finished reading the book), レポートを書き終わった (I finished writing the report), 食べ終わったら出かけよう (Let’s go out once we’re done eating). Conjugates as godan. vs ～上げる: 終わる is neutral completion. 上げる implies completing something skillfully or thoroughly.
～出す (dasu) — burst out / suddenly start
Marks a sudden, often unexpected start: 赤ちゃんが泣き出した (The baby burst into tears), 急に笑い出した (Suddenly burst out laughing), 雨が降り出した (It suddenly started raining). Conjugates as godan. Use 出す for spontaneous, uncontrolled beginnings — 始める for planned ones.
～過ぎる (sugiru) — too much / overdoing
Expresses excess: 食べ過ぎた (ate too much), 飲み過ぎる (drink too much), 働き過ぎ (overwork). Also works with adjectives: 高すぎる (too expensive), 大きすぎる (too big). Conjugates as ichidan. The noun form ～過ぎ is common: 飲み過ぎに注意 (be careful about drinking too much).
～やすい / ～にくい — easy / hard to
Expresses ease or difficulty: 読みやすい (easy to read), 食べにくい (hard to eat), わかりやすい (easy to understand), 使いにくい (hard to use). These become い-adjectives: 読みやすくない (not easy to read), 読みやすかった (was easy to read). Note: ～やすい also means "prone to": 壊れやすい (fragile / easy to break), 風邪を引きやすい (catch colds easily).
Other essential compound patterns
Beyond the core patterns above, several others appear frequently.
～直す (naosu) — redo
やり直す (redo), 書き直す (rewrite), 作り直す (remake). Implies correcting or improving: もう一度考え直してください (Please reconsider).
～合う (au) — do mutually
話し合う (discuss together), 助け合う (help each other), 愛し合う (love each other), 見つめ合う (gaze at each other). Adds reciprocal meaning.
～込む (komu) — do deeply / into
飛び込む (jump into), 考え込む (think deeply), 座り込む (sit down and stay), 詰め込む (cram/stuff in). Adds a sense of going into something or thoroughness.
～かける (kakeru) — start but not finish / almost
食べかける (start eating but stop), 言いかける (start to say something), 死にかける (nearly die). Implies an incomplete or interrupted action.
～切る (kiru) — do completely
使い切る (use up completely), 走り切る (run to the end), 疲れ切る (be completely exhausted), 諦め切れない (can’t completely give up). Adds finality and totality.
Core compound verb patterns
| Pattern | Meaning | Example verb | Compound | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ～始める | begin | 食べる | 食べ始める | begin eating |
| ～続ける | continue | 走る | 走り続ける | keep running |
| ～終わる | finish | 読む | 読み終わる | finish reading |
| ～出す | suddenly start | 泣く | 泣き出す | burst out crying |
| ～過ぎる | too much | 飲む | 飲み過ぎる | drink too much |
| ～やすい | easy to | 読む | 読みやすい | easy to read |
| ～にくい | hard to | 食べる | 食べにくい | hard to eat |
| ～直す | redo | 書く | 書き直す | rewrite |
| ～合う | mutually | 話す | 話し合う | discuss together |
| ～込む | into / deeply | 飛ぶ | 飛び込む | jump into |
| ～切る | completely | 使う | 使い切る | use up completely |
| ～かける | half-done | 食べる | 食べかける | start eating (stop) |
Example sentences
雨が降り始めたから、傘を持っていこう。
Ame ga furihajimeta kara, kasa o motte ikou.
It started raining, so let’s bring an umbrella.
～始める — deliberate/expected start
昨日食べ過ぎて、お腹が痛い。
Kinou tabesugite, onaka ga itai.
I ate too much yesterday and my stomach hurts.
～過ぎる — excess
この本はとても読みやすい。
Kono hon wa totemo yomiyasui.
This book is very easy to read.
～やすい — ease of action
赤ちゃんが急に泣き出した。
Akachan ga kyuu ni nakidashita.
The baby suddenly burst into tears.
～出す — sudden unexpected start
3時間走り続けたら足が痛くなった。
Sanjikan hashiritsuzuketara ashi ga itaku natta.
After running for 3 hours straight, my legs started hurting.
～続ける — sustained action
もう一度最初からやり直そう。
Mou ichido saisho kara yarinaosu.
Let’s redo it from the beginning.
～直す — redo/correct
彼女と目が合って見つめ合った。
Kanojo to me ga atte mitsumeatta.
Our eyes met and we gazed at each other.
～合う — reciprocal action
Common mistakes
食べ出した for "started eating a planned meal"
食べ始めた
～出す is for sudden, unexpected beginnings: 泣き出す (burst into tears). For planned/expected actions, use ～始める: 食べ始める (start eating). Using 出す for a regular meal sounds odd.
読み安い / 読み易い (written with wrong kanji/spacing)
読みやすい
～やすい in compound verbs is typically written in hiragana, not kanji (易い). The ます-stem attaches directly: 読み + やすい = 読みやすい. No space or hyphen between them.
高い過ぎる (adjective + 過ぎる with い)
高すぎる
For い-adjectives, drop い before adding すぎる: 高い → 高すぎる, 大きい → 大きすぎる. For な-adjectives, just add すぎる: 静か → 静かすぎる.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between ～始める and ～出す?
～始める marks a deliberate, expected beginning: 勉強し始めた (started studying — planned). ～出す marks a sudden, unexpected start: 急に泣き出した (suddenly burst out crying). Rain: 雨が降り始めた (it started raining — you saw clouds) vs 雨が降り出した (it suddenly started raining — caught off guard).
Can every verb become a compound verb?
Most verbs can take the common compound patterns (始める, 続ける, 過ぎる, やすい/にくい). However, some combinations are unnatural: ✗ある始める, ✗いる続ける. State verbs and some intransitive verbs resist certain compounds. If a combination sounds odd, it probably is — listen to native usage.
How do compound verbs conjugate?
The second verb determines conjugation. 食べ始める conjugates like 始める (ichidan): 食べ始めない, 食べ始めた, 食べ始めます. 読み終わる conjugates like 終わる (godan): 読み終わらない, 読み終わった, 読み終わります. The first verb is frozen in its stem form.
What group does 走る belong to?