Japanese

かく
Meaning: to write; to draw
Part of Speech: Verb

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Verb inflections

Form Affirmative Negative
Present 書く 書かない
Polite 書きます 書きません
Past 書いた 書かなかった
Polite + Past 書きました 書きませんでした
Te-form 書いて 書かなくて
Potential 書ける 書けない
Passive 書かれる 書かれない
Causative 書かせる 書かせない
Causative + Passive 書かされる 書かされない
Imperative 書け 書くな

Handwriting

書
く

Example sentences

I write a letter to my friend.
私はお母さんに手紙を書きました。
I wrote a letter to my mother.
読みやすいように、文字をはっきりと書いてください。
Please write the characters clearly so that they are easy to read.
大切なことは、忘れないように紙に書いておこう。
Let's write down important things on paper so we don't forget them.
感謝の気持ちを込めて、手紙を書きました。
I wrote a letter with a feeling of gratitude.
封筒の表には受取人の名前が書いてある。
The recipient's name is written on the front of the envelope.
彼はとてもきれいな字を書く。
He writes very beautiful characters.
封筒の内側にメッセージが書いてある。
A message is written on the inside of the envelope.
彼は右手と左手の両方で文字が書ける。
He can write characters with both his right and left hands.
この本は子供向けに書かれている。
This book is written for children.

Usage Notes

Mainly used for writing text. When used for drawing pictures, it can also be written as 描く or 画く.

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