動詞（どうし、doushi）
- verb

The Japanese word 動詞, pronounced どうし (dōshi), means "verb" in English. It is a fundamental part of speech, crucial for constructing sentences. 動詞 express actions, states of being, or processes. They indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing, experiencing, or being. In essence, they are the "doing" words of a sentence.

⚫︎私は食べます。 Translation: I eat. ⚫︎犬が走ります。 Translation: The dog runs. ⚫︎彼は背が高いです。 Translation: He is tall.

You use 動詞 in nearly every sentence in Japanese. The specific form of the 動詞 changes depending on the tense (past, present, future), politeness level, and the subject. Mastering 動詞 conjugation is key to speaking and writing grammatically correct Japanese. Consider how the 動詞 must be used in conjunction with particles, like が, は, を, and に, for correct sentence structure.

⚫︎The word 動詞 is typically written using kanji, 動詞, but you’ll also encounter it in hiragana: どうし. ⚫︎There is only one way to write the word 動詞 or どうし.

There aren't direct synonyms for "verb" itself in Japanese, as it refers to a part of speech. However, other related terms include: ⚫︎ 述語(jutsu go): Predicate, which is what the 動詞 often functions as within a sentence.

There is no exact antonym for 動詞 itself. However, consider the opposite of actions, states, or processes the 動詞 describes. The opposite words would depend on the specific 動詞. For example, the opposite of 食べる(taberu - to eat) could be 食べない(tabenai - not to eat).

私は毎日日本語を勉強します。 ・Translation: I study Japanese every day. ・Explanation: In this sentence, 勉強します(benkyō shimasu - to study) is the 動詞, indicating the action the speaker performs.

彼は先生です。 ・Translation: He is a teacher. ・Explanation: In this sentence, です(desu - is/am/are) is the 動詞 which is a copula acting as a linking 動詞, establishing a state of being.

The word 動詞 is composed of two kanji: 動 (dō), meaning "motion" or "movement," and 詞 (shi), meaning "word" or "term." Therefore, it literally means "motion word" or "action word," accurately reflecting the function of a 動詞.