ArticleMulti-perspective Studies of Foreign Languages Learning http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.028
A Study on the Acquisition of Japanese Auxiliary Verbs ～teiku and ～tekuru by Learners at Chinese Regional Undergraduate Universities
Dandan Wang1, Ying Zhao2,*
1School of Foreign Studies, Tangshan Normal University, No. 156, Jianshe North Road, Lubei District, Tangshan 063000, Hebei, China.
2Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, 117 Machang Dao, Hexi District, Tianjin 300204, China.
*Corresponding author: Ying Zhao
This study is supported by the 2025 Teaching Construction Special Project of Tangshan Normal University (Project No.: 2025JGZD118), “Research on the Cultivation of Multimodal Cross-cultural Communication Skills for Japanese Language Professionals in the Context of New Media.”
Published: September 30,2025
Abstract
In Japanese, there are many expressions indicating movement, among which the usage of ‘iku’ (to go) and ‘kuru’ (to come) as auxiliary verbs is very important. The auxiliary verbs ‘~teiku’ and ‘~tekuru’ generally have two major usages: firstly, a directional usage indicating spatial movement based on a specific perspective such as that of the speaker within the text; secondly, a usage indicating the progression and development of events starting from a specific point in time. In Japanese, spatial directionality and the manner of grasping time are often expressed strongly from the speaker’s perspective. Although ‘~teiku’ and ‘~tekuru’ are considered elementary grammar in textbooks, they are actually difficult to master.Therefore, for the above reasons, this paper focuses on ‘~teiku’ and ‘~tekuru’. Through a questionnaire survey targeting second-year, third-year, and fourth-year Japanese language learners at Tangshan Normal University, it aims to identify which aspects learners are more prone to misuse, systematically compare the differences in their usage, and explore their similarities and differences in expressing spatial and temporal progression. The questionnaire survey yielded the following results:(1) The acquisition status of ‘~teiku’ and ‘~tekuru’ is not opti-mistic. Overall, this is a grammar point that is difficult to master.(2) Compared to ‘~tekuru’, the usage of ‘~teiku’ is more difficult to master.(3) Learners need to further strengthen their understanding of the spatial usage.(4) The survey found that the issue of verb conjugation preceding the auxiliary verbs ‘~teiku’ and ‘~tekuru’ is a topic that should be researched in the future.(5) The survey found that fourth-year Japanese learners had the best mastery, with the correct rate increasing as Japanese proficiency improved.
Keywords
~teiku; ~tekuru; Contrastive Study; Questionnaire Survey
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How to cite this paper
A Study on the Acquisition of Japanese Auxiliary Verbs ～teiku and ～tekuru by Learners at Chinese Regional Undergraduate Universities
How to cite this paper: Dandan Wang, Ying Zhao. (2025). A Study on the Acquisition of Japanese Auxiliary Verbs ～teiku and ～tekuru by Learners at Chinese Regional Undergraduate Universities. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 1(2), 371-380.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.09.028