japanese verb conjugation the simple hard way - underreacted

The author introduces a 'simple hard' method for learning Japanese verb conjugation based on the logic of stems and suffixes. By identifying verbs as having either fixed or wildcard stems, learners can apply suffixes containing 'secret' vowels to derive correct forms. This framework replaces traditional table-based memorization with a coherent phonetic system that explains both regular patterns and historical exceptions.

Key Points

• Japanese verb conjugation is a logical system of concatenation between stems and suffixes.
• Verbs are divided into fixed stems (ichidan) and wildcard stems (godan) which determine how suffixes attach.
• Suffixes contain 'secret vowels' that fill wildcard slots or are discarded depending on the verb type.
• Phonetic rules of the Japanese hiragana table (like s+i=shi) must be applied to the resulting concatenations.
• The -ta and -te forms are unique cases where sounds collapsed historically into patterns like -nda, -ita, or -tta.