連用形

Japanese

Kanji in this term
連	用	形
れん Grade: 4	よう Grade: 2	けい Grade: 2
on'yomi	kan'on

Etymology

Compound of 連用 (ren'yō, “attaching to an inflecting word”, where 用 (yō) is short for 用言 (yōgen, “inflecting word”)) +‎ 形 (kei, “form”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) れんよーけー [rèń'yóókéé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɾẽ̞ɰ̃jo̞ːke̞ː]

Noun

連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) • (ren'yōkei) 

1. (grammar) an inflectional category: the continuative or stem form for verbs, the adverbial form for adjectives

   This is the base form after which various conjugational endings are added, such as て (te) or ます (masu). See Appendix:Japanese verbs for more details.

Usage notes

• As a term describing an inherently Japanese grammatical form, 連用形 is sometimes simply transliterated. When rendered into English, the term has been translated different ways by different authors. Alternative glosses include:
  • adverbial;
  • base form;
  • conjunctional;
  • continuative;
  • deverbal noun;
  • infinitive;
  • stem form.
• In regards to -i adjectives:
  • The initial k sound of the -ku ending can be elided, in a process called ウ音便. This is often seen in Heian-era language. In modern standard Japanese, this is usually found in fossilized phrases that are often (but not always) archaic. It also remains as a dialectal feature.

    ありがたく→ありがたう→ありがとう

    arigataku→arigatau→arigatō

    being difficult to exist → thank you

    苦(くる)しくない→苦(くる)しうない→苦(くる)しゅうない

    kurushikunai→kurushiunai→kurushūnai

    it is not agonizing → there is no problem

  • In modern Kansai dialect, an innovation has taken place where the -ku ending of the 連用形 can be dropped, as:

    凄(すご)くない？→凄(すご)ない？

    Sugokunai?→Sugonai?

    Isn't it incredible?

    高(たか)くなる→高(たか)なる

    takakunaru→takanaru

    to become higher

Related terms

• 已(い)然(ぜん)形(けい) (izenkei, “realis”)
• 仮(か)定(てい)形(けい) (kateikei, “conditional”)
• 終(しゅう)止(し)形(けい) (shūshikei, “conclusive”)
• 未(み)然(ぜん)形(けい) (mizenkei, “irrealis”)
• 命(めい)令(れい)形(けい) (meireikei, “imperative”)
• 連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “attributive”)

References

• Sandness, Karen (1999) The Evolution of the Japanese Past and Perfective suffixes, Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, →ISBN, pages 3, 12, 42, others
• Henderson, Harold Gould (1948) Handbook of Japanese Grammar, Houghton Mifflin Co., page 12
• Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Volume 6, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1932, page 643