飲む
のむ
nomu
Conjugation
= to drink
| Form | Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary form The plain form you find in a dictionary |
飲む のむ |
nomu | to drink |
| Masu form Polite present / future |
飲みます のみます |
nomimasu | drink (polite) |
| Te form Connects clauses, makes requests |
飲んで のんで |
nonde | drinking / and drink |
| Ta form Plain past |
飲んだ のんだ |
nonda | drank |
| Nai form Plain negative |
飲まない のまない |
nomanai | don’t drink |
| Masen form Polite negative |
飲みません のみません |
nomimasen | don’t drink (polite) |
| Nakatta form Plain past negative |
飲まなかった のまなかった |
nomanakatta | didn’t drink |
| Potential form Can / be able to |
飲める のめる |
nomeru | can drink |
| Volitional form Let’s / I think I’ll |
飲もう のもう |
nomou | let’s drink |
Nomu (飲む) is the verb Japanese speakers use for swallowing something without chewing it — water, tea, alcohol, even medicine. Its te-form and ta-form follow a pattern that differs from -ite verbs: nonde and nonda, not nomite or nomita.
Nomu is a godan (five-step) verb: its stem vowel shifts through all five vowel sounds as it conjugates (nom-a, nom-i, nom-u, nom-e, nom-o), unlike ichidan verbs such as taberu, which only ever drop -ru. The test is the nai-form: godan verbs show an a-row vowel shift before nai, so nomu becomes 飲まない (nomanai), while an ichidan verb like taberu becomes 食べない (tabenai) with no vowel change — the stem stays tabe- either way. Once a verb is confirmed as godan, its te-form follows from the kana it ends in. Godan verbs split into families by that final kana, and each family converts differently: u/tsu/ru verbs take -tte (matsu → matte), ku verbs take -ite (kaku → kaite), gu verbs take -ide (oyogu → oyoide), su verbs take -shite (hanasu → hanashite), and mu/bu/nu verbs take -nde. Nomu ends in む, so it belongs to that last group: 飲む becomes 飲んで (nonde), never nomite. The same -nde pattern shows up in yomu (yonde) and shinu (shinde), which is why it helps to learn this family as a set rather than memorizing nomu in isolation.
Reach for masu-form (nomimasu) when speaking politely to someone you don’t know well, or in writing addressed to a general audience. The plain dictionary form (nomu) belongs in casual speech with friends and family, or in writing about general habits and facts. Te-form (nonde) is the connector: use it mid-sentence to link actions together, to make a request (nonde kudasai), or to describe an action in progress (nonde iru). Ta-form (nonda) reports a completed action in the past. The negative forms nomanai and nomimasen carry the same plain/polite split for things that will not or did not happen. Potential nomeru describes what someone is physically able to drink or permitted to drink, and volitional nomou is for proposing a drink to someone else, such as an invitation.
Everyday use
今朝、熱いお茶を飲んだ。
Kesa, atsui ocha o nonda.
This morning, I drank hot tea.
Casual / Social Media
今夜、みんなで飲もうよ！
Kon’ya, minna de nomou yo!
Let’s drink together tonight, everyone!
Formal / Cultural context
こちらの水道水は、そのままでは飲めませんのでご注意ください。
Kochira no suidousui wa, sonomama dewa nomemasen node go-chuui kudasai.
Please note that this tap water cannot be drunk as-is.
One mistake is producing nomite instead of nonde — this happens when -te is attached directly to the masu-stem nomi- (nomi + te) rather than converting through the mu/bu/nu family rule that produces んで. A second pitfall is scope: nomu covers not only beverages but also taking medicine (kusuri o nomu) and drinking alcohol, so a sentence with nomu alone doesn’t specify what’s being consumed unless the object is stated or clear from context — English speakers sometimes reach for a separate verb for medicine out of habit, but Japanese uses the same one. Learners also sometimes mix up potential nomeru with plain negative nomanai or polite nomimasu when speaking quickly, since all three share the nom- stem but diverge in their endings.