取り組む (torikumu) conjugation
to tackle, to engage in a bout, to come to grips with
取り組む (とりくむ, torikumu) is a godan verb. Godan verbs change their final kana up and down its column of the kana chart — the a-row for negatives, the i-row before ます, the e-row for potential and ば. Every form below is tappable — hear it, then say it back.
Conjugation table
| Form | Plain (casual) | Polite (~ます) | When you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictionary / plain | 取り組む torikumu | 取り組みます torikumimasu | The form you look up. Also the casual present and future. |
| Plain negative | 取り組まない torikumanai | 取り組みません torikumimasen | “doesn’t / won’t”. From here it conjugates like an i-adjective. |
| Plain past | 取り組んだ torikunda | 取り組みました torikumimashita | The casual past — same ending as the te-form, with た/だ. |
| Plain past negative | 取り組まなかった torikumanakatta | 取り組みませんでした torikumimasendeshita | “didn’t”. The negative past, still i-adjective-shaped. |
| Te-form | 取り組んで torikunde | — | The connector: requests, linking clauses, ~ている. |
| Progressive (~ている) | 取り組んでいる torikundeiru | 取り組んでいます torikundeimasu | “is ~ing”, or an ongoing resulting state. |
| Desire (~たい) | 取り組みたい torikumitai | 取り組みたいです torikumitaidesu | “want to ~”. Behaves as an i-adjective. |
| Volitional | 取り組もう torikumou | 取り組みましょう torikumimashou | “let’s ~” / “I think I’ll ~”. |
| Potential | 取り組める torikumeru | 取り組めます torikumemasu | “can ~”. What you could do; the object often takes が. |
| Passive | 取り組まれる torikumareru | 取り組まれます torikumaremasu | “is ~ed”. Also the honorific and the suffering passive. |
| Causative | 取り組ませる torikumaseru | 取り組ませます torikumasemasu | Make or let someone do it. |
| Causative-passive | 取り組まされる torikumasareru | 取り組まされます torikumasaremasu | Be made to do it — the long one. |
| Imperative | 取り組め torikume | 取り組んでください torikundekudasai | Blunt order. Use ~てください in real life. |
| Prohibitive | 取り組むな torikumuna | — | “don’t!” — dictionary form + な. |
| Conditional (~ば) | 取り組めば torikumeba | — | “if ~”. General rules and hypotheticals. |
| Conditional (~たら) | 取り組んだら torikundara | — | “if / when ~”. The everyday conditional. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese word to hear it spoken.
Why it conjugates this way
Godan verbs change their final kana up and down its column of the kana chart — the a-row for negatives, the i-row before ます, the e-row for potential and ば.
See the full rules on the verb conjugation guide.