過去形(かこけい)

かこけい
noun
past tense (form)
grammaticallanguage
1. past tense — the grammatical form used to describe events or states in the past
The grammatical form that places an action or state in the past. In Japanese grammar, this typically refers to the ~た}-form of verbs and adjectives (e.g., {食(た)べた, 寒(さむ)かった) and ~でした for polite noun/na-adjective predicates. The term is also used for the past tenses of English and other foreign languages in language-teaching contexts.
動詞(どうし)の過去形(かこけい)を覚(おぼ)える。
To memorize the past tense of verbs.
「食(た)べる」の過去形(かこけい)は「食(た)べた」です。
The past tense of 'taberu' is 'tabeta.'
英語(えいご)の不規則(ふきそく)動詞(どうし)の過去形(かこけい)は覚(おぼ)えるのが大変(たいへん)だ。
The past tense of English irregular verbs is hard to memorize.
この文(ぶん)は現在形(げんざいけい)で書(か)くべきで、過去形(かこけい)は使(つか)いません。
This sentence should be written in the present tense; the past tense is not used.

Compound of 過去(かこ) ('past') and 形(けい) ('form, shape'). Literally 'past form.'

Usage

  • Primarily a grammatical term used in language teaching, grammar explanations, and linguistic analysis.
  • For Japanese verbs, refers to the plain ~た-form and polite ~ました-form; for i-adjectives, to the ~かった-form; for な-adjectives and nouns, to ~だった/~でした.
  • Often contrasted explicitly with 現在形(げんざいけい) ('present/non-past tense') and 未来形(みらいけい) ('future tense,' mainly for discussions of other languages — Japanese has no dedicated future tense).

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 現在形(げんざいけい): present tense (form) — the direct contrast.
  • た形(けい): ta-form — a more specifically Japanese-grammar term for the past form of verbs.
  • 過去(かこ): the past (as a noun) — the time period itself, not the grammatical form.
  • 時制(じせい): tense — the broader grammatical category that includes both past and present forms.

Related Words

Compare: 時制(じせい) (tense)
Related: 肯定形(こうていけい) (affirmative form)
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Added 2026.4.15 19:11 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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