List of Godan -iru / -eru Exception Verbs

shikaji · January 7, 2022, 4:34pm

Sometimes also known as “exceptions to the ru-exceptions”. The verbs that don’t drop their る when being conjugated, even though they end in (rhyme with) “iru” or “eru”. There are not that many so here they are. Based on this list.

Identification
(with thanks to @BIsTheAnswer )

る-ending verb with an “iru” or “eru” sound at the end
Kanji reading has more than one mora (i.e. 走る)
i / e sound inside the Kanji not written as Okurigana
Leaving the special exceptions at the end of this list to be just learned by heart

And that is probably not foolproof either, because language. Post exceptions to the exceptions to the exceptions to the exceptions in the comments.

IRU

Verb	Definition	Wanikani
愚痴(ぐち)る	to grumple, to complain	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 愚痴
入(はい)る	to enter, to join	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 入る
走(はし)る	to run	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 走る
限(かぎ)る	to limit, to restrict	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 限る
握(にぎ)る	to grip, to grasp	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 握る
陥(おちい)る	to fall into	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 陥る
滅入(めい)る	to feel depressed
毟(むし)る	to pluck, to pick
捻(ねじ)る	to screw, to twist
罵(ののし)る	to abuse, to curse at
野次(やじ)る	to jeer at, to catcall, to hackle

ERU

Verb	Definition	Wanikani
焦(あせ)る	to be in a hurry	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 焦る
火照(ほて)る	to feel hot, to flush	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 火照る
帰(かえ)る	to return, to come home	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 帰る
陰(かげ)る	to darken, to be clouded	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 陰
覆(くつがえ)る	to be overturned, to be overruled	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 覆る
滑(ぬめ)る	to glide, to slide, to slip	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 滑る
喋(しゃべ)る	to talk, to chat	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 喋る
茂(しげ)る・繁(しげ)る	to grow thick, to be luxurious	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 茂る
湿気(しけ)る	to get damp, to get soggy	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 湿気
滑(すべ)る	to glide, to slide	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 滑る
猛(たけ)る	to rage, to be excited	WaniKani / Kanji / 猛
蘇(よみがえ)る	to be resurrected, to be recalled (memories)

Special Exceptions
→ i / e sound in Okurigana but still Godan
→ Kanji with just one Mora
→ Kana only words

Verb	Definition	Wanikani	Comment
脂(あぶら)ぎる	to become greasy	WaniKani / Kanji / 脂
散(ち)る	to fall, to scatter	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 散る
伏(ふ)せる	to cover, to lie down	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 伏せる
減(へ)る	to decrease, to diminish	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 減る
煎(い)る・炒(い)る	to roast	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 煎る
要(い)る	to need	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 要る	[usually kana]
翔(か)ける	to soar, to fly	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 翔る
噛(かじ)る	to gnaw, to knibble, to bite	WaniKani / Kanji / 噛	[usually kana]
蹴(け)る	to kick, to refuse	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 蹴る
切(き)る	to cut	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 切る
参(まい)る	to go, to come	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 参る
混(ま)じる	to be mixed, to be combined	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 混じる
詰(なじ)る	to rebuke, to scold	WaniKani / Kanji / 詰
阿(おもね)る	to flatter, to fawn on	WaniKani / Kanji / 阿	[usually kana]
競(せ)る	to compete, to bid	WaniKani / Kanji / 競
知(し)る	to know	WaniKani / Vocabulary / 知る
照(て)る	to shine	WaniKani / Kanji / 照
入(い)る	to get in, to enter
煉(ね)る	to knead, to refine, to temper
攀(よ)じる	to scale, to clamber up
千切(ちぎ)る	to tear to pieces		[usually kana]
穿(ほじ)る	to dig up, to dig out		[usually kana]
迸(ほとばし)る	to surge, to well up		[usually kana]
弄(いじ)る	to fiddle with		[usually kana]
軋(きし)る	to creak, to squeak		[usually kana]
抉(こじ)る	to pry		[usually kana]
漲(みなぎ)る	to overflow, to rise		[usually kana]
謗(そし)る	to slander, to libel, to criticize		[usually kana]
滾(たぎ)る	to boil, to seethe		[usually kana]
魂消(たまげ)る	to be astonished, to be startled		[usually kana]
耽(ふけ)る	to indulge in, to be obsessed by		[usually kana]
捻(ひね)る	to twist, to wring		[usually kana]
抓(つね)る	to pinch		[usually kana]
畝(うね)る	to undulate, to meander, to twist		[usually kana]
びびる	to be surprised, to feel nervous
どじる	to fail, to mess up [coll]
いびる	to pick on, to tease
せびる	to pester, to extort
くねる	to wriggle, to be crooked
のめる	to tumble forward
せせる	to poke, to pick at

anon33985902 · January 7, 2022, 4:37pm

Best, topic, ever

shikaji · January 7, 2022, 5:31pm

And that before i had even started Took a while typing it all out but here you go.

anon33985902 · January 7, 2022, 5:34pm

Wow what a great list! Thank you so much for taking the time to type this out, I am going to save it to a google doc

shikaji · January 7, 2022, 6:00pm

By the way:

BIsTheAnswer · January 7, 2022, 6:12pm

A lot of these fall under the pattern of having their e/i sound inside the kanji instead of in the okurigana, in which case they’re often godan instead of ichidan, especially for the longer verbs like 走る or 限る. That’s a pattern I use to reduce the list of exceptions I need to memorize a bit

shikaji · January 7, 2022, 6:31pm

Yeah, i was wondering how reliable that is but that looks very much like the way to go. I guess I’ll single those and the Kana-only words out and put them into their own group - thanks!

BIsTheAnswer · January 7, 2022, 6:45pm

It’s relatively reliable if the kanji has more than one mora in it like 走る, if it only has a single one there’s not really a pattern to it though. 見る is ichidan for example but 知る is godan. For the one mora variants you might even see variants where the only difference between words is whether they’re ichidan or godan, like 居る and 要る. But for the longer verbs it’s relatively reliable

saibaneko · January 7, 2022, 10:29pm

thanks!

Leebo · January 7, 2022, 11:41pm

Btw I think of うねる or うね pretty regularly, because うね is what the ridges in fields, where the seeds are planted, are called. You see them every day in Japan, even in cities.

The kanji is 畝. It’s jouyou even!

Also I’m positive I’ve used undulate at some point, but anyway.

Belthazar · January 8, 2022, 12:47am

Might I suggest a table rather than an unordered list? A la

Verb	Definition	WaniKani Link
愚痴(ぐち)る	to grumple, to complain	Vocabulary / 愚痴
入(はい)る	to enter, to join	Vocabulary / 入る
走(はし)る	to run	Vocabulary / 走る
限(かぎ)る	to limit, to restrict	Vocabulary / 限る

More concise, no?

shikaji · January 8, 2022, 7:42am

Oh, interesting. I didn’t include it because my IME doesn’t let me produce it when typing うねる for some reason but I’ll edit accordingly, thanks! Only typing うね correctly suggests 畝 though

Can do, will do and now i don’t know why i didn’t.

system · January 8, 2023, 7:42am

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