り

The auxiliary り is one of the most restrictive patterns in classical Japanese grammar, primarily carrying two core meanings:

Meaning 1: Continuative/Resultative（存続 - そんぞく）
Indicates the state resulting from the action continues. "Is in the state of having done". Translation Tip: Learners should always try translating it as 存続 first, as this is the most common usage in Heian-period literature. It frequently attaches to verbs describing nature, posture, or wearing clothes (e.g., 咲けり（さけり）= is blooming; 乗れり（のれり）= is riding; 履けり（はけり）= is wearing footwear).

Meaning 2: Perfective（完了 - かんりょう）
Indicates an action is finished. "Has done" or "did". If the 存続 translation does not make sense in context, fall back to this meaning.

Traditionally in schools, it is taught that it only attaches to two specific verb groups, remembered by the mnemonic サ未四已（さみしい）:

• サ変の未然形（さへんのみぜんけい）: Attaches to the 未然形 of サ変 verbs. Example: す → せり.
• 四段の已然形（よだんのいぜんけい）: Attaches to the 已然形 of 四段 verbs. Example: 書く（かく）→ 書けり（かけり）.

The "E-sound" Rule & Etymology:
Linguistically, the traditional mnemonic is slightly inaccurate. This auxiliary originated from a contraction of the 連用形（れんようけい）of a verb and the existential verb あり. For example, 書きあり（かきあり）became 書けり（かけり）. The exact same phonological rule applies to サ変 verbs: the 連用形 し + あり = せり. In Old Japanese phonology, this fusion produced a specific "e" sound that matches the 命令形（めいれいけい - Imperative form）of both 四段 and サ変 verbs (the Old Japanese imperative of サ変 was せ). Because of this, many modern textbooks simply teach that り attaches to the エ段（えだん - e-row）of a verb.

Golden Rule for Reading: If you see an エ段 character followed by ら, り, る, or れ, it is almost certainly the auxiliary り (e.g., 読め＋る, 思へ＋り). ⚠️ Warning about verb stems: Do not confuse this with regular verbs that naturally end in an e-sound + る (like 帰る（かえる）or 蹴る（ける）). The エ段 character must be the conjugated tail of the preceding verb, not part of the verb stem itself. ⚠️ Warning about ら: While an エ段 character followed by ら can absolutely be the 未然形（みぜんけい）of the auxiliary り (e.g., 読めらむ, 読めらば), you must be careful not to confuse it with 下二段（しもにだん）verbs attaching to the passive/honorific auxiliary らる (e.g., 受け＋らる).

⚠️ Warning: Do not confuse this with the modern potential form! In classical Japanese, 読める（よめる）means "is reading" or "has read", NEVER "can read".

Connection to たり:
Because り was highly restrictive (only attaching to two verb groups), if an author wanted to use a perfective with a verb from another class (e.g., a 下二段 verb like 食ぶ（たぶ）), they were forced to use たり (or つ / ぬ). The auxiliary たり naturally grammaticalized from て＋あり and became the universal perfective/continuative auxiliary because it lacked the phonological restrictions of り. It carries the exact same meanings and attaches to the 連用形 of all verbs.

Conjugation (Ra-hen Type):

• 未然形: ら
• 連用形: り
• 終止形: り
• 連体形: る
• 已然形: れ
• 命令形: れ

In modern Japanese, this form is archaic but survives in specific literary phrases like 迷える子羊（まよえるこひつじ）, where 迷える（まよえる）is the attributive form（連体形）of 迷えり（まよえり）, and 生ける屍（いけるしかばね - a living corpse）.