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する

See also: ずる

Contents

JapaneseEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Alternative spelling 為る

From Old Japanese root verb す (su, “to do”).[1][2]

As with all verbs, during the Middle Japanese stage in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the 終止形 (shūshikei, “terminal or sentence-ending form”) was gradually lost as the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) came to be used for both the attributive and terminal grammatical roles, realigning the conjugations.

PronunciationEdit

Tokyo pitch accent of conjugated forms of "する"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Terminal (終止形)
Attributive (連体形) 		する する [sùrú]
Imperative (命令形) しろ
せよ 		しろ
せ​よ 		[shìró]
[séꜜyò]
Key constructions
Passive される される [sàrérú]
Causative させる させる [sàsérú]
Potential できる でき​る [dèkíꜜrù]
Volitional しよう しよ​ー [shìyóꜜò]
Negative しない しない [shìnáí]
Negative perfective しなかった しな​かった [shìnáꜜkàttà]
Formal します しま​す [shìmáꜜsù]
Perfective した した [shìtá]
Conjunctive して して [shìté]
Hypothetical conditional すれば すれ​ば [sùréꜜbà]

VerbEdit

する (transitive and intransitive, suru conjugation, rōmaji suru)

  1. (intransitive)
    1. (of inanimate objects) to exist; to come up
      稲 (いな)光 (びかり)がする
      inabikari ga suru
      A lightning occured.
      においがする
      nioi ga suru
      There is a smell.
    2. (of a specified state; of a specified quality) to exist (in someone or something)
      がっしりした骨 (ほね)組 (ぐ)み
      gasshiri shita honegumi
      a rigid structure
    3. to be worth; to have the value of
      五 (ご)億円 (おくえん)もする絵 (え)
      gooku en mo suru e
      a painting worth 500 million yen
    4. (of time) to pass; to elapse
      一年 (いちねん)もすれば忘 (わす)れるだろう
      ichinen mo sureba wasureru darō
      It will be forgotten in one year.
  2. (transitive)
    1. to do; to perform an action
      何 (なに)をしていますか。
      Nani o shite imasu ka.
      What are you doing?
    2. to act as; to play a role of
      私 (わたし)が司会 (しかい)をする
      watashi ga shikai o suru
      I am the anchorman.
    3. to render; to make become
      Usually "A を B に / と + する ", to make A become B.
      息子 (むすこ)を先生 (せんせい)にする
      musuko o sensei ni suru
      He is training his son to become a teacher.
      一人 (ひとり)にしないで
      hitori ni shinaide
      please don't leave me to be alone by myself
      部 (へ)屋 (や)を綺麗 (きれい)にする
      heya o kirei ni suru
      to clean up one's room
    4. (to be in a specified state; to have a specified quality) to be
      怖 (こわ)い目 (め)つきをする
      kowai metsuki o suru
      to have an intimidating glare
    5. to wear (accessories)
      ネクタイをする。
      Nekutai o suru.
      I wear a necktie.
    6. to decide; to choose or to make a judgment
      まあ、これでよしとしよう
      mā, kore de yoshi to shiyō
      Alright, let's go with that.
      出場 (しゅつじょう)を取 (と)りやめにする
      shutsujō o toriyame ni suru
      I decided to quit the competition.
  3. (auxiliary)
    1. "Verbal noun + emphatic particle (e.g. は, も, こそ, さえ) + する ", emphasizing the verb.
      雪 (ゆき)は降 (ふ)りはしたが積 (つ)もらなかった
      yuki wa furi wa shita ga tsumoranakatta
      It did snow, but the snow did not pile up.
    2. "Volitional form of verb + と + する ": to be about to; to incline to
      日 (ひ)が沈 (しず)もうとしている
      hi ga shizumō to shite iru
      The sun is sinking.
    3. " に / と + する ", to give a condition or standpoint, either real or hypothetical: if / since; assuming that / now that
      習 (しゅう)作 (さく)とすれば上々 (じょうじょう)の出 (で)来 (き)だ
      shūsaku to sureba jōjō no deki da
      It is of a considerably good quality as for a practice writing.
      親 (おや)としては心配 (しんぱい)するのは当然 (とうぜん)だ
      oya to shite wa shinpai suru no wa tōzen da
      It's inevitable to worry about that if you were the parent.
      どんなに急 (いそ)いだにしても間 (ま)に合 (あ)わなかっただろう
      donna ni isoida ni shite mo ma ni awanakatta darō
      It would never have been done in time no matter how hard we had worked.
    4. (humble) " 御 (お)/御 (ご) + verbal noun + する ", a humble form of the verb.
      Antonym: 成る
      Synonym: 致す
      届 (とど)ける (todokeru, “to deliver”) - お届 (とど)けする (o todoke suru, “to deliver”, humble)
      伴 (とも) (tomo, “company”) - お伴 (とも)します (o tomo shimasu, “to accompany”, humble)
      案内 (あんない)する (annai suru, “to guide”) - ご案内 (あんない)します (go annai shimasu, “to guide”, humble)
Usage notesEdit

The verb する (“to do”) is seldom written in kanji (為る).

It is common to use する after certain nouns to indicate that the noun is being done; this is highly productive, meaning many nouns can be used as verbs in this way. Some examples are:

  • 勉強 (benkyō, “studying”) → 勉強する (benkyō suru, “to do studying” → “to study”)
  • 旅行 (ryokō, “journey”) → 旅行する (ryokō suru, “to do journey” → “to travel”)

See Category:Japanese suru verbs.

ConjugationEdit
Conjugation of "する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) さ・し・せ* sa shi se*
Continuative (連用形) し shi
Terminal (終止形) する suru
Attributive (連体形) する suru
Hypothetical (仮定形) すれ sure
Imperative (命令形) せよ¹
しろ² 		seyo¹
shiro²
Key constructions
Passive される sareru
Causative させる
さす 		saseru
sasu
Potential できる dekiru
Volitional しよう shiyō
Negative しない shinai
Negative continuative せず sezu
Formal します shimasu
Perfective した shita
Conjunctive して shite
Hypothetical conditional すれば sureba
* The sa- imperfective occurs in Kansai dialect and in certain set phrases, and forms the base of the passive and causative conjugations sareru, saseru, and sasu. The se- imperfective occurs in Classical Japanese and in other set phrases, and forms the base of the negative continuative conjugation sezu. The shi- imperfective is most common in Tokyo-standard everyday modern Japanese for forming the base of the negative conjugation shinai.

¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Classical conjugation of "す" (サ行変格活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形) せ se
Continuative (連用形) し si
Terminal (終止形) す su
Attributive (連体形) する suru
Realis (已然形) すれ sure
Imperative (命令形) せよ seyo
Key constructions
Negative せず sezu
Contrasting conjunction すれど suredo
Causal conjunction すれば sureba
Conditional conjunction せば seba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge) しき siki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge) しけり sikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action) しつ situ
Perfect tense (natural event) しぬ sinu
Perfect-continuative tense せり
したり		 seri
sitari
SynonymsEdit
See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

Reading for various kanji spellings.

VerbEdit

する (rōmaji suru)

Various verbs deriving from senses similar to “to slide” or “to rub”:

  1. 刷る, 摺る: to print something (from the way the paper would be placed on the printing block and rubbed)
  2. 掏る: to pick someone's pocket (possibly from the way a pickpocket must slide along unnoticed;[1] compare English slick)
  3. 擦る, 摩る, 磨る, 擂る: to slide, to rub, to chafe, to strike (as in a match, by rubbing); to lose or waste money
  4. 剃る: irregular reading for 剃る (soru, “to shave”)

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ^ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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