In some Japanese textbooks, the term -masu stem (or masu-stem) refers to what you get when you conjugate a verb to its polite form, which ends in ~masu ～ます, and then remove the ~masu suffix, leaving you with the stem of the conjugation. It refers to the same thing as the term ren'youkei 連用形, except that adjectives don't have a ~masu form, so they don't have a masu-stem. Usually the term is used when talking about adding a different suffix to the masu-stem (ren'youkei). For example:
| ichidan verb | godan verb | |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary form | kiru 着る To wear. |
kiru 切る To cut. |
| Polite form | kimasu 着ます |
kirimasu 切ります |
| masu-stem or ren'youkei. |
ki~ 着～ |
kiri~ 切り～ |
| tai-form (masu-stem + ~tai) |
kitai 着たい To want to wear. |
kiritai 切りたい To want to cut. |
Grammar
See the article about the ren'youkei 連用形 for details about grammar.
See the article about stem if you want to know what the word "stem" in masu-stem is supposed to mean.
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