-suru

The auxiliary verb “–suru” is versatile.

    

 

The English verb “do” and Japanese verb “suru” are very alike. Both have the same meaning. You can use them as a verb adding an object. You can conjugate both. One of the big differences is the place where you put the verb. In Japanese, a verb always follows an object. As an auxiliary verb, –suru always comes after nouns.

For example, undō is a noun meaning exercise or movement. With this auxiliary verb, it becomes undōsuru.Undōsuru means to do exercise or to carry on a campaign

 

Here is the conjugation of –suru.

…sezu = One do not do something. (This sounds classical.)

…shimasu = One will do something.

…surutoki = when one does something

… sureba or surunara or surunaraba = if one does something

… shiyō = Let’s do something.

Shimashō is another variation of suru and means “let’s do something.”

Sareru is the passive or polite form of suru.

 

They are convenient verbs and are often used as suffixes. Many people apply them for gairaigo that are originally foreign words.

Here are some  examples.

“Mēru suru” means to e-mail.

“Fakkusu suru” means to fax.

“Kopī suru” means to photocopy.

Mēru, fakkusu and kopī are in katakana. They are the noun, e-mail, fax and photocopy, respectively.

Basic Japanese Characters