Mamoru is the Japanese verb for ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, or such

What does “mamoru” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “mamoru” to mean ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain it together with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “mamoru” more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “mamoru”
  • Example #1: how to say “defend” in Japanese
• Mamoranai: the nai form of “mamoru”
  • Example #2: how to say “don’t keep” in Japanese
• Mamorou: the volitional form of “mamoru”
  • Example #3: how to say “let’s save” in Japanese
• Mamorimasu: the masu form of “mamoru”
  • Example #4: how to say “save” politely in Japanese
• Mamotta: the ta form of “mamoru”
  • Example #5: how to say “followed” in Japanese
• Mamotte: the te form of “mamoru”
  • Example #6: how to say “keep and” in Japanese
• Mamoreba: the ba form of “mamoru”
  • Example #7: how to say “if follow” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “mamoru”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “mamoru”.

• mamoru – 守る (まもる) : a verb meaning ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.

The very basic role of this verb is describe the act of keeping something as it is. For people, therefore, this verb can mean ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, or ‘to save’. For promises, rules, and the like, this verb can mean ‘to keep’ or ‘to follow’.

Then, let me explain how to use this verb through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “defend” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
• itsumo – いつも : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘always’ in Japanese.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kareshi” to make the object in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “mamoru”. In the example, it works together with the case particle, “wo”, to have the object. When we want to mean ‘to defend’ in Japanese, this verb is a good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “mamoru” and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I will explain its major conjugations. The first one is “mamoranai”.

Mamoranai: the nai form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamoranai”.

• mamoranai – 守らない (まもらない) : the nai form of “mamoru”, which means ‘not to defend’, ‘not to protect’, ‘not to save’, ‘not to keep’, or ‘not to follow’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamoranai” consists of the following two parts:

• mamora – 守ら (まもら) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “nai”.
• nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is very similar to that of “not”.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamoranai” is literally the nai form of “mamoru” and means ‘not to defend’, ‘not to protect’, ‘not to save’, ‘not to keep’, or ‘not to follow’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “don’t keep” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its plural form, “boku tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• yakusoku – 約束 (やくそく) : a noun meaning ‘promise’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “mamoranai”. When we want to mean ‘not to keep’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.

Mamorou: the volitional form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamorou”.

• mamorou – 守ろう (まもろう) : the volitional form of “mamoru”, which expresses volition to defend, protect, save, keep, or follow in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamorou” consists of the following two parts:

• mamoro – 守ろ (まもろ) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “u”.
• u– う : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamorou” is literally the volitional form of “mamoru” and expresses volition to defend, protect, save, keep, or follow in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “let’s save” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun referring to a thing close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before “hoshi” to mean ‘the planet’ in Japanese.
• hoshi – 星 (ほし) : a noun meaning ‘star’ or ‘planet’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “mamorou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s save” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.

Mamorimasu: the masu form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamorimasu”.

• mamorimasu – 守ります (まもります) : the masu form of “mamoru”, which means ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ politely in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamorimasu” consists of the following two parts:

• mamori – 守り (まもり) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “masu”.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamorimasu” is literally the masu form of “mamoru” and means ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “save” politely in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
• sekai – 世界 (せかい) : a noun meaning ‘world’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “mamorimasu”. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to say “save” politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.

Mamotta: the ta form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamotta”.

• mamotta – 守った (まもった) : the ta form of “mamoru”, which means ‘defended’, ‘protected’, ‘saved’, ‘kept’, or ‘followed’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamotta” consists of the following two parts:

• mamot – 守っ (まもっ) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ta”.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamotta” is literally the ta form of “mamoru” and means ‘defended’, ‘protected’, ‘saved’, ‘kept’, or ‘followed’ in Japanese. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #5: how to say “followed” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kodomo – 子供 (こども) : a noun meaning ‘child’ or ‘kid’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• kimari – 決まり (きまり) : a noun meaning ‘rule’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of “mamotta”. When we want to say “followed” in Japanese, this ta form is a good option.

Mamotte: the te form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamotte”.

• mamotte – 守って (まもって) : the te form of “mamoru”, which means ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamotte” consists of the following two parts:

• mamot – 守っ (まもっ) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “te”.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamotte” is literally the te form of “mamoru”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “mamotte” is very useful when we want to use “mamoru” in front of another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #6: how to say “keep and” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• karera – 彼等 (かれら) : a pronoun meaning ‘they’ in Japanese.
• matsu – 待つ (まつ) : a verb meaning ‘to wait’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “mamotte”. In this example, it has the smooth connection with “matsu”. When we want to use “mamoru” in front of another verb, its te form is very useful.

Mamoreba: the ba form of “mamoru”

Below are the definition and meanings of “mamoreba”.

• mamoreba – 守れば (まもれば) : the ba form of “mamoru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, “mamoreba” consists of the following two parts:

• mamore – 守れ (まもれ) : one conjugation of “mamoru”. This can have a smooth connection with “ba”.
• ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.

From these two parts, we can understand that “mamoreba” is literally the ba form of “mamoru”. In Japanese, ba-formed words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “mamoreba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #7: how to say “if follow” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• anzen – 安全 (あんぜん) : the stem part of the na-adjective, “anzen’na”, which means ‘safe’ in Japanese.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “anzen” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “mamoreba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kimari wo mamoreba”, which means ‘if you follow the rules’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “mamoru” and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• mamoru – 守る (まもる) : a verb meaning ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.
• mamoranai – 守らない (まもらない) : the nai form of “mamoru”, which means ‘not to defend’, ‘not to protect’, ‘not to save’, ‘not to keep’, or ‘not to follow’ in Japanese.
• mamorou – 守ろう (まもろう) : the volitional form of “mamoru”, which expresses volition to defend, protect, save, keep, or follow in Japanese.
• mamorimasu – 守ります (まもります) : the masu form of “mamoru”, which means ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ politely in Japanese.
• mamotta – 守った (まもった) : the ta form of “mamoru”, which means ‘defended’, ‘protected’, ‘saved’, ‘kept’, or ‘followed’ in Japanese.
• mamotte – 守って (まもって) : the te form of “mamoru”, which means ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.
• mamoreba – 守れば (まもれば) : the ba form of “mamoru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to defend’, ‘to protect’, ‘to save’, ‘to keep’, or ‘to follow’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.