What does “okuru” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “okuru” normally to mean ‘to send’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. 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 “okuru” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “okuru”
- Okuranai: the nai form of “okuru”
- Okurou: the volitional form of “okuru”
- Okurimasu: the masu form of “okuru”
- Okutta: the ta form of “okuru”
- Okutte: the te form of “okuru”
- Okureba: the ba form of “okuru”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “okuru”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “okuru”.
- okuru – 送る/贈る (おくる) : a verb meaning ‘to send’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese.
“Okuru” has two different kanji expressions. Japanese native speakers use the second one to show their respect in very formal situations, so we can basically focus on the first one.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use this verb through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “send” in Japanese
boku wa tokidoki tomodachi ni tegami wo okuru – 僕は時々友達に手紙を送る (ぼくはときどきともだちにてがみをおくる)
I sometimes send letters to my friends.
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.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
- tomodachi – 友達 (ともだち) : a noun meaning ‘friend’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “tomodachi” to say to whom the action described by “okuru” is directed.
- tegami – 手紙 (てがみ) : a noun meaning ‘letter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tegami” to make one object in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of “okuru”. In this example, it works together with the case particles, “ni” and “wo”, to have the objects. When we want to say “send” in Japanese, anyway, this verb is a good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “okuru” 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 “okuranai”.
Okuranai: the nai form of “okuru”
Below are the definition and meanings of “okuranai”.
- okuranai – 送らない/贈らない (おくらない) : the nai form of “okuru”, which means ‘not to send’, ‘not to feed’, ‘not to walk’, ‘not to drive’, ‘not to escort’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “okuranai” consists of the following two parts:
- okura – 送ら/贈ら (おくら) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okuranai” is literally the nai form of “okuru” and means ‘not to send’, ‘not to feed’, ‘not to walk’, ‘not to drive’, ‘not to escort’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “don’t send” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa tegami wo okuranai – 私達は手紙を送らない (わたしたちはてがみをおくらない)
We don’t send letters.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “okuranai”. When we want to mean ‘not to send’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.
Okurou: the volitional form of “okuru”
Below are the definition and meanings of “okurou”.
- okurou – 送ろう/贈ろう (おくろう) : the volitional form of “okuru”, which expresses volition to send, feed, walk, drive, escort, or such.
Grammatically, “okurou” consists of the following two parts:
- okuro – 送ろ/贈ろ (おくろ) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okurou” is literally the volitional form of “okuru” and expresses volition to send, feed, walk, drive, escort, or such. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “let’s send” in Japanese
kanojo ni tegami wo okurou – 彼女に手紙を送ろう (かのじょにてがみをおくろう)
Let’s send a letter to her!
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “okurou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s send” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.
Okurimasu: the masu form of “okuru”
Below are the definition and meanings of “okurimasu”.
- okurimasu – 送ります/贈ります (おくります) : the masu form of “okuru”, which means ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such politely in Japanese.
Grammatically, “okurimasu” consists of the following two parts:
- okuri – 送り/贈り (おくり) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okurimasu” is literally the masu form of “okuru” and means ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “drive” in Japanese
kare wa itsumo watashi wo kuruma de ie made okurimasu – 彼はいつも私を車で家まで送ります (かれはいつもわたしをくるまでいえまでおくります)
He always drives me home.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- itsumo – いつも : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘always’ in Japanese.
- kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- de – で : a case particle used to say what means or method someone takes to do something. In the example, this is used after “kuruma” to indicate what “kare” uses to drive the speaker home.
- ie – 家 (いえ) : a noun meaning ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- made – まで : an adverbial particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “ie” to indicate the destination.
This is a typical usage of “okurimasu”. 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 “drive someone to somewhere” politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.
Okutta: the ta form of “okuru”
Below are the definition and meanings of “okutta”.
- okutta – 送った/贈った (おくった) : the ta form of “okuru”, which means ‘sent’, ‘fed’, ‘walked’, ‘drove’, ‘escorted’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “okutta” consists of the following two parts:
- okut – 送っ/贈っ (おくっ) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okutta” is literally the ta form of “okuru” and means ‘sent’, ‘fed’, ‘walked’, ‘drove’, ‘escorted’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “sent” in Japanese
kanojo wa kare ni nengajou wo okutta – 彼女は彼に年賀状を贈った (かのじょはかれにねんがじょうをおくった)
She sent him a New Year’s card.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- nengajou – 年賀状 (ねんがじょう) : a noun meaning ‘New Year’s card’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of “okutta”. When we want to use the past tense form of “okuru”, this ta form is the best option.
Okutte: the te form of “okuru”
Below are the definition and meanings of “okutte”.
- okutte – 送って/贈って (おくって) : the te form of “okuru”, which means ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “okutte” consists of the following two parts:
- okut – 送っ/贈っ (おくっ) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okutte” is literally the te form of “okuru”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “okutte” is very useful when we want to use “okuru” 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 “please send” in Japanese
watashi ni tegami wo okutte kudasai – 私に手紙を送ってください (わたしにてがみをおくってください)
Please send me a letter.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- kudasai – ください : one conjugation of the verb, “kudasaru”, which means ‘to give’ or such in Japanese. When this follows a verb, however, this can also work like an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of ‘please’. In the example, this works like an auxiliary verb after “okutte” to add the meaning of ‘please’.
This is a typical usage of “okutte”. In this example, it has the smooth connection with “kudasai”. When we want to use “okuru” in front of another verb like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
Okureba: the ba form of “okuru”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of “okureba”.
- okureba – 送れば/贈れば (おくれば) : the ba form of “okuru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, “okureba” consists of the following two parts:
- okure – 送れ/贈れ (おくれ) : one conjugation of “okuru”. 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 “okureba” is literally the ba form of “okuru”. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “okureba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #7: how to say “if send” in Japanese
kimi ga tegami wo okureba, kare wa yorokobu yo – 君が手紙を送れば、彼は喜ぶよ (きみがてがみをおくれば、かれはよろこぶよ)
If you send him a letter, he will become happy.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kimi – 君 (きみ) : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kimi” to make the subject in the conditional clause.
- yorokobu – 喜ぶ (よろこぶ) : a verb meaning ‘to become happy’, ‘to be happy’, or such in Japanese.
- yo – よ : a sentence-ending particle used to state the fact or idea in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the second clause to state the speaker’s idea softly.
This is a typical usage of “okureba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “kimi ga tegami wo okureba”, which means ‘if you send him a letter’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “okuru” together with its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- okuru – 送る/贈る (おくる) : a verb meaning ‘to send’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, this can also mean ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese. This verb has two different kanji expressions. Japanese native speakers use the second one to show their respect in very formal situations, so we can basically focus on the first one.
- okuranai – 送らない/贈らない (おくらない) : the nai form of “okuru”, which means ‘not to send’, ‘not to feed’, ‘not to walk’, ‘not to drive’, ‘not to escort’, or such in Japanese.
- okurou – 送ろう/贈ろう (おくろう) : the volitional form of “okuru”, which expresses volition to send, feed, walk, drive, escort, or such.
- okurimasu – 送ります/贈ります (おくります) : the masu form of “okuru”, which means ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such politely in Japanese.
- okutta – 送った/贈った (おくった) : the ta form of “okuru”, which means ‘sent’, ‘fed’, ‘walked’, ‘drove’, ‘escorted’, or such in Japanese.
- okutte – 送って/贈って (おくって) : the te form of “okuru”, which means ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese. When we want to use “okuru” in front of another verb, this te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
- okureba – 送れば/贈れば (おくれば) : the ba form of “okuru”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to send’, ‘to feed’, ‘to walk’, ‘to drive’, ‘to escort’, or such in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
