来る

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 友達が日本に来ます。▶ —
   My friend is coming to Japan.
2. 電車がもうすぐ来ます。▶ —
   The train is coming soon.

Collocations

Mnemonic

くる — 来る, Yamato. With する, one of the two truly irregular Japanese verbs. A single kanji 来 takes three different readings depending on the form — 来ます: ki-masu (polite form). 来ない: ko-nai (negative). 来た / 来て: ki-ta / ki-te (past / te-form). 来られる: ko-rareru (potential / honorific). Two sounds, ki and ko, share the same kanji — the first real shock of Japanese verb tables. Pattern matching from regular verbs won't save you; you memorise the whole table. In exchange, this verb maps tightly onto the English "come" and the Korean 'oda'.

Quick check

1. What is the polite "did not come"?

   • 来ませんでした kimasendeshita (correct polite)
   • 来なかったです konakatta desu (casual + です)
   • こなかった (plain casual)
   • 来ないでした (ungrammatical)