The Te-Form in Japanese: Construction Rules

Japanese te-form construction rules show how to convert any verb's dictionary form into its connective non-finite form. This form ends in て or で and carries no tense or politeness of its own.^{1 2 3} The rules branch by verb class (一段, 五段, irregular). For 五段 verbs, they branch again by the final kana of the dictionary form.

Overview

What the te-form is and is not

The te-form is the non-finite connective form of the Japanese verb. It ends in て after voiceless clusters (って, いて, して) and in で after voiced clusters (んで, いで). It carries no tense or politeness register on its own. Both are supplied by whatever predicate follows.^{1 2 3}

Morphologically, the te-form shares its stem with the past-tense (ta-form). Every godan cluster transformation that builds the te-form also builds the ta-form, with た / だ replacing て / で.^{1 3 4}

Scope: this article covers construction only

The uses of the te-form (clause linking, ～てください, ～ている, ～てもいい, sequential ～てから, and others) are later patterns that attach to a correctly built te-form. They are mentioned here only as motivation for learning the form.^{2 5}

Why the te-form is taught early

The te-form is the gateway to a large bundle of N5 and N4 grammar in beginner syllabi. Many patterns attach to it: ～ている (progressive / resultative), ～てください (polite request), ～てもいい (permission), ～てはいけない (prohibition), ～てから (sequential), the directional auxiliaries ～ていく / ～てくる, ～てしまう, ～ておく, and te-form clause linking.^{1 2 5}

Pedagogically, Genki introduces the te-form in Lesson 6, immediately after the three verb classes and the masu-form. The four chapters that follow are largely te-form-based grammar.² Minna no Nihongo introduces it in Lesson 14 and devotes several following chapters to te-form derivatives.⁶

A student who can produce the te-form for any given verb can unlock dozens of patterns by swapping in new vocabulary. A student who cannot will be stalled at every one of them.^{2 3}

Prerequisites and where this fits

The reader must already know the three verb classes (一段, 五段, irregular). A wrong class choice causes later errors: a learner who classifies 帰る as 一段 will produce the wrong te-form. The companion article "Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular" covers the class diagnostic.^{1 2}

The reader must also already know the dictionary form, since the te-form is built from the dictionary form rather than from the masu-stem. The dictionary form is the citation form found in any Japanese learner dictionary.^{1 3}

The masu-form, by contrast, is built from the masu-stem (連用形): the i-row vowel for godan verbs, and the bare vowel-final stem for ichidan. The te-form and the masu-form branch by the same verb classes, but they are built by different steps. "The Masu Form: Polite Present/Future" covers the masu-stem treatment.^{1 3}

Construction rules by verb class

The construction rules sort first by verb class, then (for 五段) by the final kana of the dictionary form. The chart below shows the decision path. The cluster sections that follow give the rule and worked examples for each branch.

一段 (ichidan / ru-verbs): drop る, add て

For every 一段 verb, build the te-form by removing the final る of the dictionary form and adding て. There are no exceptions in the modern teaching set.^{1 2 6 5 7 4 8}

朝あさご飯はんを食たべて、学校がっこうに行いきます。²
"I eat breakfast, then go to school."

窓まどを開あけてください。²
"Please open the window."

朝あさ六時ろくじに起おきて、ジョギングをします。⁴
"I wake up at six in the morning and go jogging."

早はやく寝ねてください。⁵
"Please go to bed early."

テレビを見みて笑わらいました。²
"I watched TV and laughed."

The iru/eru lookalikes are godan

Some verbs whose dictionary form ends in -iru or -eru are actually 五段, not 一段 (帰る, 切る, 走る, 入る, 知る, 要る). They do not follow the 一段 drop-る rule. They follow the godan る-cluster rule (→ って) below. The "Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular" article gives the full exception list and the diagnostic for separating the two.^{1 7 4}

五段 (godan / u-verbs): five transformation clusters

For 五段 verbs, the te-form depends on the final kana of the dictionary form. It falls into one of five clusters: う/つ/る → って, む/ぶ/ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して.^{1 2 6 3 5 7 4 8 9}

The same five clusters (with た / だ replacing て / で) generate the ta-form, so learning these rules also gives the past-tense pattern.^{1 3 4} The clusters themselves reflect historical 音便 (onbin, euphonic change). The "Why the godan groupings exist" section below explains the mechanism.^{3 10 11 12}

う / つ / る → って

Verbs whose dictionary form ends in う, つ, or る (godan -る only) form their te-form with the geminate って cluster. This is the 促音便 (sokuonbin) outcome.^{1 3 10 5 7 4 8}

The る at this point is godan-る (consonant stem -r), not 一段-る. A godan verb in -ru takes って. An ichidan verb in -る takes the simple drop-る + て rule above. Misclassification here is the single most common te-form error a beginner makes.^{1 7}

リンゴを買かって帰かえりました。⁴
"I bought apples and went home."

友達ともだちを一時間いちじかん待まってください。²
"Please wait an hour for my friend."

この本ほんを取とってもいいですか。⁵
"Is it okay if I take this book?"

駅えきまで走はしって行いきました。⁴
"I ran to the station."

先生せんせいに会あって話はなしました。²
"I met the teacher and spoke with her."

む / ぶ / ぬ → んで

Verbs whose dictionary form ends in む, ぶ, or ぬ form their te-form with the nasal cluster んで. The voiced で reflects the nasal or voiced consonant of the underlying stem. This is the 撥音便 (hatsuonbin) outcome.^{1 3 10 5 7 4 8}

The shared んで outcome reflects a historical /N/ plus voicing trigger common to m-stem, b-stem, and n-stem verbs in Late Old and Early Middle Japanese. The voicing on で is conditioned by the underlying nasal, not by meaning.^{12 10}

死ぬ is the only modern -ぬ verb

死ぬ is the only modern verb in -ぬ. The historical ナ行変格 class shrank to nothing. In practice, the cluster is a む / ぶ rule with 死ぬ as a single straggler. It is presented as part of the cluster because every reference dictionary and beginner textbook does so.^{13 14}

毎朝まいあさコーヒーを飲のんで、新聞しんぶんを読よみます。²
"Every morning I drink coffee and read the newspaper."

子供こどもたちは公園こうえんで遊あそんでいます。⁴
"The children are playing in the park."

友達ともだちを呼よんでください。²
"Please call my friend."

本ほんを読よんでから寝ねます。⁵
"I'll go to bed after reading a book."

昔むかしここに大おおきな木きがあって、それは台風たいふうで倒たおれて死しんでしまいました。⁴
"There used to be a big tree here, and it fell in a typhoon and died."

く → いて

Verbs whose dictionary form ends in く form their te-form with いて. The く is dropped and replaced by い + て. This is the イ音便 (i-onbin) outcome.^{1 3 10 5 7 4 8}

行く is the one exception to く → いて

行く (iku, "to go") does not follow this rule. Its te-form is 行って (itte), not the expected *行いて. It is the only modern godan -く verb that resists い-onbin. Modern teaching treats it as a one-form lexical irregularity. The same exception applies to its ta-form (行った, not *行いた).^{13 7 4 8 14}

名前なまえをここに書かいてください。²
"Please write your name here."

音楽おんがくを聞きいてリラックスします。⁴
"I listen to music and relax."

駅えきまで歩あるいて行いきました。⁵
"I walked to the station."

私わたしは東京とうきょうで働はたらいています。⁶
"I work in Tokyo."

駅えきに着ついて電話でんわしてください。⁴
"Please call when you arrive at the station."

ぐ → いで

Verbs whose dictionary form ends in ぐ form their te-form with いで. The ぐ is dropped and replaced by い + で. The voicing on で reflects the voiced stem-final /g/, mirroring the voiceless く → いて pattern. This is the same イ音便 (i-onbin) outcome as the く cluster, voiced.^{1 3 10 5 7 4 8}

Every modern verb in -ぐ is godan and takes いで with no exceptions.^{13 5}

プールで泳およいで運動うんどうしました。⁴
"I swam in the pool and got some exercise."

急いそいでください。²
"Please hurry."

靴くつを脱ぬいで上あがってください。⁶
"Please take off your shoes and step up."

コーヒーを注そそいでくれますか。⁵
"Could you pour the coffee?"

急いそいで宿題しゅくだいをやって、寝ねました。⁴
"I hurried, did my homework, and went to bed."

す → して

Verbs whose dictionary form ends in す form their te-form with して. The す is replaced by し + て, and the stem-final /s/ is preserved.^{1 3 5 7 4 8}

Unlike the other four clusters, this transformation is not an 音便 outcome. The historical s-stem reflex stayed segmentally stable while the other consonants underwent gemination, nasalisation, or palatalisation.^{3 10 11 12} Every modern verb in -す is godan and takes して with no exceptions.^{13 5}

友達ともだちと日本語にほんごで話はなしてみました。²
"I tried speaking in Japanese with a friend."

ペンを貸かしてください。²
"Please lend me a pen."

鞄かばんからノートを出だして、書かき始はじめました。⁴
"I took a notebook out of my bag and started writing."

ドアを押おしてください。⁵
"Please push the door."

自転車じてんしゃを直なおして使つかっています。⁴
"I fixed the bicycle and am using it."

Irregular verbs

The te-form irregulars are する → して, 来る → 来て (きて), and 行く → 行って (いって). Modern teaching presents 行く as a full te-form irregular alongside する and 来る, even though 行く is classified as 五段 everywhere else in the paradigm.^{1 2 5 7 4 8 9}

する → して uses the same し-stem visible in the masu-form (します). Every compound noun + する verb (勉強する, 結婚する, 旅行する, アップロードする) inherits the して te-form.^{1 15 5}

来る → 来て (kite) shows the 来 kanji read as き-. This matches the masu-form 来ます (きます) and the past 来た (きた). Every compound V-て + 来る verb (持ってくる, 出てくる, 帰ってくる) inherits this 来て.^{1 16 5}

行く → 行って (itte) is the only godan -く verb that does not follow the く → いて rule. Modern references treat this as a one-form lexical irregularity, not a fourth irregular class.^{13 7 4 8 14}

今日きょうは宿題しゅくだいをしてから遊あそびます。¹⁵
"Today I'll do my homework, then play."

駅えきまで来きてください。¹⁶
"Please come to the station."

銀行ぎんこうに行いってお金かねを下おろしました。⁴
"I went to the bank and withdrew money."

毎日まいにち勉強べんきょうして、日本語にほんごが上手じょうずになりました。¹⁵
"I studied every day, and my Japanese got better."

友達ともだちが来きて、一緒いっしょに映画えいがを見みました。¹⁶
"A friend came over and we watched a movie together."

Quick-reference table

Here is the whole rule set on one screen, with sources as cited in the cluster sections above.^{1 2 5 7 4 8 9}

Class	Dictionary-form ending	Te-form ending	Example (dict)	Example (te-form)
一段	-る (ichidan)	-て	食べる	食べて
一段	-る (ichidan)	-て	見る	見て
五段	-う / -つ / -る	-って	買う / 待つ / 取る	買って / 待って / 取って
五段	-む / -ぶ / -ぬ	-んで	飲む / 遊ぶ / 死ぬ	飲んで / 遊んで / 死んで
五段	-く	-いて	書く	書いて
五段	-ぐ	-いで	泳ぐ	泳いで
五段	-す	-して	話す	話して
不規則 (irreg)	する	して	する	して
不規則 (irreg)	来る	来て (きて)	来る (くる)	来て (きて)
不規則 (irreg)	行く (五段, exception)	行って (いって)	行く (いく)	行って (いって)

The te-form song (mnemonic)

How the song encodes the rules

The standard "te-form song", sometimes called the utsurutte song after its opening line, groups the godan endings into the same five clusters used by the rule table above (って / んで / いて / いで / して). It then adds the three irregulars as a coda. The song and the table are two views of one system. A learner who already knows the song can read the cluster sections as confirmation.^{17 18}

A common classroom version sets the lyrics to the melody of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", which gives the mnemonic its rhythm. This melody attribution comes from one publisher and reflects one common delivery, not the only one.¹⁷

The lyrics and the mapping

The standard short-form lyrics, in the canonical learner-classroom version, match the cluster sections above one-to-one.^{17 18}

Song line	Cluster covered in this article
う・つ・る → って	五段 sokuon cluster
む・ぶ・ぬ → んで	五段 nasal cluster
く → いて	五段 i-onbin (voiceless)
ぐ → いで	五段 i-onbin (voiced)
す → して	五段 no-onbin cluster
くる → きて	Irregular: 来る
する → して	Irregular: する
いく → いって	五段 -く lexical exception (行く)

When the mnemonic helps and when it does not

The song covers every godan ending and the three irregulars in one verse. A learner who can sing it has the godan branching memorised by ending alone.^{17 18}

It does not cover the 一段 → drop る + て rule, because that rule has no cluster choice to memorise. It also does not cover the iru/eru godan exceptions (帰る, 切る, 走る, 入る, 知る, 要る), which are part of verb-class classification rather than te-form construction. A learner can misclassify a verb and then sing the wrong rule with confidence.^{7 4}

The song is best understood as a mnemonic for the godan cluster table, not as a replacement for the verb-class diagnostic. Treat it as one of two parallel views of the rule set, not as the rule set itself.^{4 17}

Construction rules in context

Te-form rules mirror ta-form rules

Every cluster transformation that builds the te-form also builds the ta-form, with た / だ replacing て / で. The cluster table is therefore one piece of morphological knowledge shared by two paradigms.^{1 3 4 13}

The て / で and た / だ suffixes attach to the same 音便 stem in modern Japanese. Once you know the te-form rules, you also know the ta-form rules. Only the final kana differ.^{1 3 4}

Dictionary	Te-form	Ta-form
買う	買って	買った
飲む	飲んで	飲んだ
書く	書いて	書いた
泳ぐ	泳いで	泳いだ
話す	話して	話した
食べる	食べて	食べた
する	して	した
来る	来て	来た
行く	行って	行った

Te-form and the masu-stem are different bases

The te-form is built from the dictionary form, using the cluster rules above. The masu-form is built from the masu-stem (連用形), by attaching ます to the i-row stem of a godan verb (書き → 書きます) or to the bare stem of an ichidan verb (食べ → 食べます). These are two distinct starting points. The te-form is not the masu-stem + て.^{1 3}

Compare 書く (godan): masu-stem 書き, masu-form 書きます, te-form 書いて (not *書きて).^{1 3}

Compare 食べる (ichidan): masu-stem 食べ, masu-form 食べます, te-form 食べて. Here the masu-stem and the te-form look the same because the ichidan rule "drop る" happens to match the masu-stem. This overlap in 一段 verbs can hide the fact that godan verbs derive the two forms from different stems.^{1 3}

The companion article "The Masu Form: Polite Present/Future" covers the masu-stem treatment in full.^{2 6}

Why the godan groupings exist (音便)

The five godan cluster outcomes (って, んで, いて, いで, して) reflect 音便 (onbin, "euphonic change"). These historical sound changes simplified the consonant sequences produced when te or ta attached to a consonant-stem verb. The clusters are not arbitrary. Each maps to a named subtype of 音便.^{12 11 3 10}

NINJAL, Wikipedia, and Frellesvig catalogue the four 音便 subtypes.^{3 10 12} Their mapping to the te-form clusters is direct.

音便 subtype	Outcome	Mechanism
促音便 (sokuonbin)	geminate /Q/	stem-final /w/, /t/, /r/ + /te/ → /Qte/ (って)
撥音便 (hatsuonbin)	nasal /N/	stem-final /m/, /b/, /n/ + /te/ → /Nde/ (voiced んで)
イ音便 (i-onbin)	/i/-vowel	/ki/ + /te/ → /ite/; /gi/ + /te/ → /ide/ (voicing transfers)
ウ音便 (u-onbin)	/u/-vowel	/Cu/ + /te/ → /ute/ (Kansai-only in modern speech)

ウ音便 survives in some dialects (Kansai 買う → 買うた kōta) but does not appear in standard-Japanese te / ta godan formation. It is listed here only for completeness of the 音便 family.^{10 11}

The す cluster resists 音便 in modern Japanese. The ren'yōkei し is preserved unchanged. Some classical sources show partial sokuonbin variants on -す verbs (archaic 申す → 申って), but these have been levelled out of the standard modern paradigm.^{11 10 12}

音便 framing is optional at N5

A learner can memorise the five clusters as five lexical patterns and be fully correct at N5. The 音便 framing is useful for a learner who notices that the te-form and the ta-form share a cluster table and wants to know why. It is not a memorisation requirement.^{3 4}

Good to know

The iru/eru trap (do not assume 一段)

A small set of common 五段 verbs end in -iru or -eru in their dictionary form, so they look like 一段 verbs on the surface. Their te-form follows the godan る-cluster rule (→ って), not the 一段 drop-る rule (→ て).^{1 7 4}

The high-frequency exception verbs that must be memorised by N5 are 帰る, 切る, 走る, 入る, 知る, and 要る.^{7 4} Here is one correct te-form in context:

家いえに帰かえって休やすみました。⁴
"I went home and rested."

When the class is uncertain, the ない-form identifies it clearly. 帰る → 帰らない (/a/-vowel before ない → godan); 食べる → 食べない (/e/-vowel before ない → ichidan). The "Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular" article covers the full diagnostic.^{1 3 4}

行く is the irregular learners forget

行く (iku, "go") is classified as 五段 in every modern reference. Its te-form, however, is 行って (itte), not the expected *行いて (*iite). It is the only godan -く verb that resists the い-onbin rule.^{13 7 4 8 14}

The same exception applies to the ta-form: 行く → 行った (not *行いた). The irregular part is the cluster mismatch, not the verb class.^{4 13}

A beginner who internalises "く → いて" without flagging 行く will often produce 行いて in early speech. Treating 行く as a full irregular in the rule table helps prevent the error.^{7 17}

銀行ぎんこうに行いってお金かねを下おろしました。⁴
"I went to the bank and withdrew money."

Voicing follows the cluster, not the meaning

The te-form ends in either て (voiceless) or で (voiced). The split is determined by the cluster, not by meaning, politeness, or context. って, いて, して end voiceless; んで, いで end voiced. The voicing of で reflects the underlying stem-final consonant (nasal /m/, /n/, /b/, or voiced /g/) carrying its voicing into the suffix.^{3 10 11}

The split is one-to-one with the 音便 subtype. 促音便 (って), イ音便 of voiceless く (いて), and no-onbin す (して) yield voiceless て. 撥音便 (んで) and i-onbin of voiced ぐ (いで) yield voiced で.^{3 10}

Spelling check: small っ versus full つ

The geminate cluster って uses the small っ (sokuon), not the full つ. Learners typing in an IME sometimes accept the full-size つ from the first candidate and end up with つて (two morae). That is not a valid form for any verb in this paradigm.^{4 3}

The same applies to the ta-form: 買った, not *買つた. In handwriting, the small っ is written roughly half the height of a full つ. In horizontal romaji input, IMEs produce the small っ automatically from doubled consonants (katte → かって). The typing fix is to type the double consonant directly rather than pick つ from a candidate list.⁴

The equivalent check for the nasal cluster is simpler. んで uses the moraic ん, which is its own character and cannot be confused with な-row kana. The nasal cluster has no analogous spelling trap.¹⁰

Te-form is not polite or plain on its own

The te-form carries no politeness register. The politeness of an utterance built on a te-form comes from whatever follows the て. ください is polite, くれ is plain, and ほしい is neither. The te-form itself is constant across registers.^{1 3}

A learner who has the rule table memorised can produce te-forms in casual speech (友達を待って！), polite speech (お待ちください…), and writing (待って、考えた…) without changing the te-form itself. Register lives in the following predicate. The companion article "Polite vs. Plain Japanese: です/ます vs. だ (丁寧体・普通体)" covers the politeness axis in full.^{1 2}

See also

• The Te-Form in Japanese: Uses (Linking, Cause, Light Imperative, Continuation)
• The Ta-Form in Japanese: Construction Rules
• The Masu Form (ます): Polite Present and Future Tense
• The Nai-Form (ない形): Plain Negative of Japanese Verbs
• Japanese Verb Groups: 一段, 五段, and Irregular
• The Japanese Verb Stem (連用形): The Masu-Stem and Its Uses

References

Footnotes

1. Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. The Japan Times, 1986. ISBN 978-4-7890-0454-1. Entry "te-form" and the verb-class conjugation tables, pp. 478–482 and pp. 582–595. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰

2. Banno, Eri, et al. Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese, 3rd edition. The Japan Times, 2020. ISBN 978-4-7890-1730-5. Lesson 6 introduces the te-form with the full godan/ichidan/irregular construction table and example sentences using ～てください and clause linking. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴

3. 庵功雄・松岡弘・中西久実子 ほか (Iori, Isao, et al.). 『初級を教える人のための日本語文法ハンドブック』(A Handbook of Japanese Grammar Patterns for Teachers of Beginning-Level Japanese). スリーエーネットワーク, 2000. ISBN 978-4-88319-148-0. Chapter on the te-form, its formation rules by class, and the 音便 framing. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸

4. Tofugu. "Te Form: Connecting words and clauses in Japanese." https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/te-form/ (limitation: language-learning publisher; used for the parallel "the past tense ending ～た conjugation pattern also has the same wacky pattern" framing and the cluster examples). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰

5. Bunpro. "Te-form (JLPT N5)." https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points (te-form decks under the N5 grammar library) (limitation: language-learning publisher; used for the canonical N5-level construction rules: う/つ/る → って, む/ぶ/ぬ → んで, く → いて, ぐ → いで, す → して, ichidan る → て, する → して, 来る → 来て, 行く → 行って). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹

6. 3A Corporation. 『みんなの日本語 初級I 第2版』(Minna no Nihongo Shokyū I, 2nd ed.). スリーエーネットワーク, 2012. ISBN 978-4-88319-603-4. Lesson 14 introduces the te-form alongside the Ⅰ/Ⅱ/Ⅲ verb-group classification. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

7. sljfaq.org. "How does the te form work?" https://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/te-form.html (limitation: community FAQ; used for the cluster-by-cluster construction rules and the explicit flagging of 行く → 行って as a one-form irregularity). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

8. University of Texas at Austin, JOSHU project. "Conjugation: Te-form." https://laits.utexas.edu/japanese/joshu/conjugation/conref/cr_teform.php (used for the te-form rule table and the explicit "exception" labelling of 行く → 行って). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

9. Japan Society. "Japanese Language Lesson 17: Te form conjugation." https://japansociety.org/news/japanese-language-lesson-17-te-form-conjugation/ (used for confirmation of the standard godan/ichidan/irregular construction table in an institution-published lesson). ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Wikipedia contributors. "Onbin." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onbin (limitation: encyclopedic reference; used for the inventory of the four onbin subtypes (イ音便, ウ音便, 撥音便, 促音便) and the sound-change descriptions tied to -te / -ta formation). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

11. Shibatani, Masayoshi. The Languages of Japan. Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 978-0-521-36918-3. Chapter 7 covers verbal morphology, the -te / -ta paradigm, and the onbin-driven allomorphy of consonant-stem verbs. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

12. Frellesvig, Bjarke. A History of the Japanese Language. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-65320-6. Chapters on Late Old Japanese and Early Middle Japanese sound change, including the rise of 音便 (onbin) and the geminate, nasal, and i-onbin reflexes in -te / -ta formation. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

13. Wikipedia contributors. "Japanese verb conjugation." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation (limitation: encyclopedic reference; used for the cross-paradigm summary of the -te / -ta onbin allomorphy and the listing of 行く as the single irregular godan -ku verb). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

14. Wikipedia contributors. "Japanese irregular verbs." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_irregular_verbs (limitation: encyclopedic reference; used for the listing of 行く as the sole godan -ku verb with an irregular sokuon-style te-form). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

15. Bunpro. "する (JLPT N5)." https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B (limitation: language-learning publisher; used for the irregular paradigm of する at N5). ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. Bunpro. "くる (JLPT N5)." https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8B (limitation: language-learning publisher; used for the reading shifts of 来る at N5). ↩ ↩² ↩³

17. Wasshoi Magazine. "Having Trouble Remembering The Te-Forms? This Song Will Help You." https://www.wasshoimagazine.org/blog/curiosities-of-the-japanese-language/te-form-song (limitation: language-learning publisher; used for the standard te-form song lyrics in their canonical form, the "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" melody attribution, and the song's inclusion of 行く as an irregular within the lyric set). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

18. Gakuu. "The Te Form Song." https://gakuu.com/the-te-form-song/ (limitation: language-learning publisher; used as the second independent confirmation of the standard "utsurutte" lyric set covering the godan endings and the three irregulars). ↩ ↩² ↩³