Free Japanese Te-Form Worksheets
Make printable Japanese te-form worksheets with five exercises: a table of forms, sorting verbs by ending, joining two sentences, polite requests and a one-page te-form chart. Pick the words by type or by ending, from the 160 beginner words to all 877, and choose which of the te-form, the ta-form and the negative te-form go in the table. The answer key starts on its own page, and the sentence exercises, reviewed for natural Japanese, print with or without furigana. Print on A4 or US Letter or save as PDF, free and with no signup.
The five te-form exercises
- Write the forms. A table of verbs, and adjectives if you pick them, with a column for each form you choose: te-form, ta-form or negative te-form. The key fills in every correct form, so the negative shows both ないで and なくて.
- Sort by ending. A numbered word bank of verbs, with a column for each te-form ending: って, んで, いて, いで, して and て. Students write each verb's te-form in its column. 行く goes under って, which is the point.
- Join two sentences. Two short polite sentences become one with the te-form: 朝ご飯を食べます。学校へ行きます。 becomes 朝ご飯を食べて、学校へ行きます。 Adjectives join the same way: この部屋は広いです。明るいです。 becomes この部屋は広くて、明るいです。
- Make a request. Students turn a phrase into a polite request: 窓を開ける becomes 窓を開けてください。
- Te-form chart. The chart from the te-form guide on one page, to hand out or pin up.
The sentence exercises were reviewed for natural Japanese, and they print with furigana on or off.
Choosing the words
Pick the words the same way as in the te-form quiz: by type, by ending or both, since ticks add up. The types are る-verbs, う-verbs, い-adjectives, な-adjectives, and one group for する, 来る and noun + する verbs. The endings are the tricky rows, from む, ぶ, ぬ → んで to the う-verbs that look like る-verbs, such as 帰る, 入る and 切る. Tick く → いて and ぐ → いで together, and the sheet drills two rows that differ only by the ゛ marks, with 行く mixed in. Then choose the 160 beginner words or all 877. Nothing is ticked at the start, and the bar at the bottom says what's still to choose.
Printing and the answer key
Choose 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 lines, and A4 or US Letter. The answer key starts on its own page, so the worksheet can go out without it. Shuffle makes a new sheet. Then press Print, or choose Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a PDF copy. The worksheets are free with no signup, and teachers may photocopy them for their classes.
The chart and the quiz
Before a worksheet, the Japanese te-form chart and rules guide explains every column of the sorting exercise, along with the exceptions, adjectives and the negative te-form. After it, the te-form quiz lets students practice the same forms on screen, with a one-line reason after every answer, which suits homework. For the other forms, from the masu form to the causative passive, the Japanese verb conjugation worksheets cover 14 forms for all 884 words.
Frequently asked questions
Are the te-form worksheets free?
Yes. There's no signup, you can print them or save them as PDF, and teachers may photocopy them for their classes.
Can I get the te-form worksheets as a PDF?
Yes. Press Print, then choose Save as PDF in the print dialog. Both A4 and US Letter work.
Is there an answer key?
Yes. It starts on its own page, so you can hand out the worksheet and keep the key. In the table of forms it fills in every correct form, both ないで and なくて for the negative te-form.
Which words can I use?
Any of 877 Japanese verbs and adjectives, picked by type, by ending or both, or only the 160 beginner words. That's every word in our conjugation tables except seven that a te-form drill is better without, such as らしい and 可能性が高い.
Are the example sentences natural Japanese?
The sentence exercises were reviewed for natural Japanese. You can print them with or without furigana.
Is there a printable te-form chart?
Yes. The fifth exercise prints the te-form chart from our guide on one page, to hand out or pin up.
Licenses and credits
Verbs, adjectives and their meanings come from JMdict, the property of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, used in conformance with the Group's licence. The forms are built by the standard rules, with the irregular ones written out.
The example sentences are written for NexaProva and were reviewed for natural Japanese.