Structure
Examples:
[る1]Verb → 見る + よう
[る5]Verb → 座る + ろう
[う]Verb → 歌う + おう
[く]Verb → 歩く + こう
[す]Verb → 話す + そう
[つ]Verb → 打つ + とう
[ぬ]Verb → 死ぬ + のう
[ぶ]Verb → 飛ぶ + ぼう
[む]Verb → 休む + もう
[ぐ]Verb → 泳ぐ + ごう
Exceptions:
する → しよう
くる → こよう
Details
Standard
About Verb[よう]
よう (and う) are grammar constructions that function in a similar way to ましょう, or to be more precise, ましょう is the polite (conjugated) form of these auxiliary verbs. They are used as a casual way of expressing 'let's' when making suggestions, or 'I shall' when making statements.
よう is only one of the potential forms of this grammar point, and can actually be divided into two separate auxiliary verbs, う (used with う-Verbs), and よう (used with る-Verbs, する, and くる).
When attaching う to う-Verbs, simply replace the last kana with the equivalent お sound kana from within the same column (く becomes こ, う becomes お, す becomes そ, etc.), before adding う. For る-Verbs, replace る with よう.
As with many other verb conjugations, する and くる behave in a slightly different way to regular う-Verbs and る-Verbs. する will become しよう, while くる will become こよう.
The type of statements that う, and よう can be used for in Japanese are usually divided into three categories.
推量 - Expresses guesses (has a similar meaning to だろう, which itself is the よう form of だ)
意志 - Expresses intentions (has a similar meaning to ~するつもりだ)
勧誘 - Expresses invitations or encouragement (has a similar meaning to 誘う 'to invite')
Caution
Although よう is used with る-Verbs, する, and くる, it should not be confused with ようだ, another auxiliary verb that is used when describing likeness (in a similar way to そうだ).
Antonyms
Related
Vocab Coverage
All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.
Examples
--:--
あなたが好きなケーキを買ってあげよう。
I'll buy you a cake that you like.
毎日スポーツをしよう。
Let's play sports every day.
朝ご飯を食べに行こう。
Let's go out to eat for breakfast.
ここにはあまりいいものがないから帰ろう。
There is not really anything good here, so let's go home.
今日は早く帰ろう。
Let's go home early today.
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All uses of volitional form and よう explained
BriefJapanese
The Japanese volitional form
SelfTaughtJapanese
Volitional Form
Tae Kim
Offline
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 13
Genki II 1st Edition
Page 54
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 78
Genki II 3rd Edition
Page 74
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 150
みんなの日本語 II
Page 42 [CH 31]
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Verb[よう] – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

Jerfy
Thank you!

TareBare
For this example sentence, " ここで働きたいから、いい履歴書を書こう", is there a reason we can’t say “書きます”?

steffuld
Apparently, historically the auxiliary ~む, from which the volitional originated, had a “conjecture” (guessing) meaning. I think it kind of nicely brings these several grammar points together:
- Guessing about yourself — “I’ll probably do (A)” → “I intend to do (A)” → (A)しようと思う
- Guessing about yourself and urging someone else to do the same — “let’s (A)” → (A)しよう
- Guessing about something or someone else — “probably (A)” → (A)だろう/(A)でしょう