What does “tatakau” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “tatakau” to mean ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this verb with its major conjugations. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “tatakau” more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “tatakau”
- Tatakawanai: the nai form of “tatakau”
- Tatakaou: the volitional form of “tatakau”
- Tatakaimasu: the masu form of “tatakau”
- Tatakatta: the ta form of “tatakau”
- Tatakatte: the te form of “tatakau”
- Tatakaeba: the ba form of “tatakau”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “tatakau”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “tatakau”.
- tatakau – 戦う/闘う (たたかう) : a verb meaning ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
This verb has two different kanji expressions. The first one is more commonly used; the second one is used purposely for specific cases. Basically, therefore, we can 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 “fight” in Japanese
boku tachi wa kono uirusu to tatakau – 僕達はこのウイルスと戦う (ぼくたちはこのういるすとたたかう)
We fight against this virus.
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.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku tachi” to make the subject in the 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 “uirusu” to say “this virus” in Japanese.
- uirusu – ウイルス (ういるす) : a noun meaning ‘virus’ in Japanese. This is an imported word.
- to – と : a case particle used to say with whom someone does something. In the example, this is used after “kono uirusu” to indicate the object which the speakers fight against.
This is a typical usage of “tatakau”. In the example, it works together with the case particle, “to”, to have the object. This usage is worth knowing, I think. When we want to mean ‘to fight’ in Japanese, anyway, this verb is a good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “tatakau” 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 “tatakawanai”.
Tatakawanai: the nai form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakawanai”.
- tatakawanai – 戦わない/闘わない (たたかわない) : the nai form of “tatakau”, which means ‘not to fight’, ‘not to battle’, or ‘not to contend’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “tatakawanai” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakawa – 戦わ/闘わ (たたかわ) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakawanai” is literally the nai form of “tatakau” and means ‘not to fight’, ‘not to battle’, or ‘not to contend’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain this form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “don’t fight” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa shizen to tatakawanai – 私達は自然と戦わない (わたしたちはしぜんとたたかわない)
We don’t fight against nature.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- shizen – 自然 (しぜん) : a noun meaning ‘nature’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tatakawanai”. When we want to mean ‘not to fight’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.
Tatakaou: the volitional form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakaou”.
- tatakaou – 戦おう/闘おう (たたかおう) : the volitional form of “tatakau”, which expresses volition to fight, battle, or contend.
Grammatically, “tatakaou” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakao – 戦お/闘お (たたかお) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakaou” is literally the volitional form of “tatakau” and expresses volition to fight, battle, or contend. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “let’s fight” in Japanese
kono byouki to tatakaou – この病気と戦おう (このびょうきとたたかおう)
Let’s fight against this disease!
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- byouki – 病気 (びょうき) : a noun meaning ‘disease’ or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tatakaou”. In this example, it works to make the suggestion. When we want to say “let’s fight” in Japanese, this volitional form is a good option.
Tatakaimasu: the masu form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakaimasu”.
- tatakaimasu – 戦います/闘います (たたかいます) : the masu form of “tatakau”, which means ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “tatakaimasu” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakai – 戦い/闘い (たたかい) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakaimasu” is literally the masu form of “tatakau” and means ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ politely in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “fight” politely in Japanese
kodomo tachi mo kono uirusu to tatakaimasu – 子供達もこのウイルスと戦います (こどもたちもこのういるすとたたかいます)
Children fight against this virus, too.
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.
- mo – も : a binding particle making the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘also’, ‘as well’, or ‘too’. In the example, this works after “kodomo tachi” to make the subject in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’.
This is a typical usage of “tatakaimasu”. 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 “fight” politely in Japanese, this form is a very good option.
Tatakatta: the ta form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakatta”.
- tatakatta – 戦った/闘った (たたかった) : the ta form of “tatakau”, which means ‘fought’, ‘battled’, or ‘contended’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “tatakatta” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakat – 戦っ/闘っ (たたかっ) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakatta” is literally the ta form of “tatakau” and means ‘fought’, ‘battled’, or ‘contended’ in Japanese. Let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “fought” in Japanese
boku tachi wa yami no senshi to tatakatta – 僕達は闇の戦士と戦った (ぼくたちはやみのせんしとたたかった)
We fought against dark warriors.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- yami – 闇 (やみ) : a noun meaning ‘darkness’ or ‘the dark’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “yami” and “senshi”. The formed phrase literally means ‘dark warriors’ in Japanese.
- senshi – 戦士 (せんし) : a noun meaning ‘soldier’ or ‘warrior’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of “tatakatta”. When we want to say “fought” in Japanese, this ta form is a good option.
Tatakatte: the te form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakatte”.
- tatakatte – 戦って/闘って (たたかって) : the te form of “tatakau”, which means ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “tatakatte” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakat – 戦っ/闘っ (たたかっ) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakatte” is literally the te form of “tatakau”. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, “tatakatte” is very useful when we want to use “tatakau” 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 “fight and” in Japanese
hikari no senshi wa tokidoki yami no senshi to tatakatte taosu – 光の戦士は時々闇の戦士と戦って倒す (ひかりのせんしはときどきやみのせんしとたたかってたおす)
Light warriors sometimes fight against the dark warriors and beat them.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- hikari – 光 (ひかり) : a noun meaning ‘light’ in Japanese.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘sometimes’ in Japanese.
- taosu – 倒す (たおす) : a verb meaning ‘to beat’ or such in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tatakatte”. In this example, it has the smooth connection with “taosu”. When we want to use “tatakau” in front of another verb, its te form is very useful.
Tatakaeba: the ba form of “tatakau”
Below are the definition and meanings of “tatakaeba”.
- tatakaeba – 戦えば/闘えば (たたかえば) : the ba form of “tatakau”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
Grammatically, “tatakaeba” consists of the following two parts:
- tatakae – 戦え/闘え (たたかえ) : one conjugation of “tatakau”. 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 “tatakaeba” is literally the ba form of “tatakau”. In Japanese, ba-formed words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use “tatakaeba” to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #7: how to say “if fight” in Japanese
ima tatakaeba, omae wa shinu – 今戦えば、お前は死ぬ (いまたたかえば、おまえはしぬ)
If you fight now, you’ll die.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- ima – 今 (いま) : an adverb meaning ‘now’ in Japanese.
- omae – お前 (おまえ) : a pronoun rudely meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- shinu – 死ぬ (しぬ) : a verb meaning ‘to die’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tatakaeba”. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, “ima tatakaeba”, which means ‘if you fight now’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘to fight’, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “tatakau” and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tatakau – 戦う/闘う (たたかう) : a verb meaning ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
- tatakawanai – 戦わない/闘わない (たたかわない) : the nai form of “tatakau”, which means ‘not to fight’, ‘not to battle’, or ‘not to contend’ in Japanese.
- tatakaou – 戦おう/闘おう (たたかおう) : the volitional form of “tatakau”, which expresses volition to fight, battle, or contend.
- tatakaimasu – 戦います/闘います (たたかいます) : the masu form of “tatakau”, which means ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
- tatakatta – 戦った/闘った (たたかった) : the ta form of “tatakau”, which means ‘fought’, ‘battled’, or ‘contended’ in Japanese.
- tatakatte – 戦って/闘って (たたかって) : the te form of “tatakau”, which means ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
- tatakaeba – 戦えば/闘えば (たたかえば) : the ba form of “tatakau”, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘to fight’, ‘to battle’, or ‘to contend’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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