How to Conjugate 待つ

Which Verb Group Is It?

Matsu (待つ) is the everyday verb for ‘to wait.’ Its te-form does double duty as a standalone spoken request — chotto matte (‘hold on a sec’) works as a complete sentence on its own. Because it’s a godan verb, its stem vowel shifts with every ending, which makes it a useful verb for seeing how godan conjugation actually works.

Matsu is godan (u-verb) because its dictionary form ends in つ, not る — and only る-ending verbs ever raise the question of ichidan vs. godan. Any verb ending in う, つ, す, く, ぐ, ぶ, ぬ, or む is automatically godan. You can also confirm it by watching the stem vowel move across all five rows: 待た (mata, a-row) before negatives, 待ち (machi, i-row) before masu, 待つ (matsu, u-row) as the dictionary form itself, 待て (mate, e-row) for potential, and 待と (mato, o-row) before volitional. An ichidan verb’s stem never changes like this — it stays fixed and only the ending after it changes.

When to Use Each Form

The te-form matte is a standalone spoken command in itself: chotto matte to a friend, or the fuller chotto matte kudasai to someone you owe more politeness to. In connected speech, matte iru (‘is waiting’) is commonly contracted to matteru in texts and casual talk. The plain negative matanai and past matta belong in conversation with friends or in a diary-style post, while machimasu / machimasen are what you’d use talking to a stranger, a customer, or in a polite email. The masu-stem 待ち also stands alone in compounds — machiawase (‘arranging to meet up’) names the arrangement itself, not the place; the place is machiawase basho. Businesses fold the humble form into omachi shite orimasu (‘we look forward to [your visit/reply]’) as a fixed, formal closing line. The volitional matou is for a self-directed decision to wait, or for proposing to a group that everyone wait together; the polite way to suggest the same thing to someone else is machimashou (‘let’s wait’).

Example Sentences

Common Mistakes

The classic mix-up is with motsu (持つ, ‘to hold/carry’), a near-identical godan verb differing by a single vowel — their te-forms matte and motte are easy to mix up, especially since both show up in set phrases (chotto matte vs. motte iku, ‘to take something along’). The person or thing being waited for takes the particle o, not ni: tomodachi o matsu (‘to wait for a friend’) is correct, tomodachi ni matsu is not. And in polite speech, keep the direction straight — omachi shite orimasu is humble, describing your own waiting, while omachi kudasai is honorific, directing the listener to wait; swapping them points the politeness at the wrong person.

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