본문 바로가기
  • Home
Basic Search

A Study on Introducing Exceptional Verbs in Japanese Verb Classification: Focusing on Usage Frequency and JLPT Vocabulary

  • The Japanese Language Association of Korea
  • Abbr : JLAK
  • 2026, (87), pp.129~146
  • DOI : 10.14817/jlak.2026.87.129
  • Publisher : The Japanese Language Association Of Korea
  • Research Area : Humanities > Japanese Language and Literature
  • Received : January 9, 2026
  • Accepted : February 18, 2026
  • Published : March 20, 2026

Lee jae-Hyeon 1,  Yeonhwi Cho 1

1경남대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study examines how exceptional verbs should be incorporated into the classification of Japanese verbs, particularly addressing learners’ challenges in distinguishing between Group 1 (godan) and Group 2 (ichidan) verbs. In classroom practice, learners frequently raise two questions: (Q1) Why do the criteria for identifying these verbs seem complex and unreliable? and (Q2) How many exceptional Group 1 verbs exist, and which ones should be prioritized for JLPT preparation? To address these issues, the study adopts a dictionary-based approach. It proposes a stepwise instructional procedure: (i) treat suru and kuru as special cases, (ii) apply a primary rule using Romanized endings (-iru/-eru), and (iii) consult an exception list only when necessary. To support scope and prioritization, exceptional Group 1 verbs are extracted and organized from multiple resources, including the Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese (BCCWJ) with frequency data (PMW), JLPT vocabulary books, and level-tagged verb lists from the NAVER Japanese dictionary. The data were integrated using Python (pandas) and analyzed using morphological parsing with Fugashi (MeCab-based), identifying exceptional Group 1 verbs as godan verbs whose Romanized endings are -iru or -eru.The results show that exceptional Group 1 verbs account for roughly 4% of verbs in the analyzed datasets. Although numerically limited, they are prone to misclassification due to their surface similarity to Group 2 verbs. Based on these findings, the study suggests two goal-oriented teaching options: a frequency-based priority list for general proficiency and a JLPT-oriented, reorganized list that reduces the memorization load by excluding many compound verbs. The proposed framework combines a fixed decision procedure with specific reference lists tailored to different purposes, providing clearer guidance for learners and a practical basis for systematic instruction.

Statistics

  • 77 Viewed
  • 0 Downloaded

Tools

Issue List

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2024 are currently being built.

Basic Search Advanced Search