競う · godan verb (-u)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 競う | 競わない |
| Polite | 競います | 競いません |
| Past polite | 競いました | 競いませんでした |
| Past | 競った | 競わなかった |
| Te-form | 競って | 競わないで |
| Desire | 競いたい | 競いたくない |
| Potential | 競える | 競えない |
| Passive | 競われる | 競われない |
| Causative | 競わせる | 競わせない |
| Causative passive | 競わせられるalso 競わされる | 競わせられないalso 競わされない |
| Volitional | 競おう | |
| Polite volitional | 競いましょう | |
| Imperative | 競え | 競うな |
| Conditional | 競えば | 競わなければ |
| Tara conditional | 競ったら | 競わなかったら |
godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
Intransitive verb for competing or striving against others, often in skill, speed, or quality. Used with ～を or ～で to indicate what is being competed over.
The athletes are competing for the gold medal.
各社が新技術の開発を競っている。
Companies are vying to develop new technology.
He competed against his longtime rival.
The two of them competed over speed.
The athletes competed with their skills at the tournament.
競う emphasizes rivalry and trying to win, whereas 比べる (in its competing sense) focuses on simply measuring one's ability against another's.