In some Japanese textbooks, the term -u verb (or u-verb) means the same thing as a godan verb. Such verbs always end in the ~u vowel in their nonpast form (or dictionary form, shuushikei 終止形), however, they aren't the only ones to do so: ALL Japanese verbs end in the ~u vowel, including, for example, ichidan verbs (-ru verbs), which aren't -u verbs, so not all verbs that end in the ~u vowel are actually -u verbs, making the term extremely confusing for lots of people trying to learn Japanese.(Steffanick, 2010:20)
Grammar
See the article about godan verbs for details on grammar and conjugation. This article is mainly about the term -u verb itself.
Explanation of the Term
The reason why the term -u verb appears to be completely useless is because it refers to the morphology of the verb: when an -u verb is conjugated, everything before the ~u vowel stays the same (i.e. the stem is before ~u), so the last syllable's consonant (if any) stays the same, and only the vowel and everything gets replaced by a new suffix.
By contrast, with -ru verbs, the ~ru syllable gets replaced, so it's the ~u vowel PLUS the ~r consonant that can disappear, i.e. it's not ONLY the ~u vowel, so it's not an -u verb. Observe:
| -ru verb | -u verb | |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpast form | ki-ru 着る Will wear. |
kir-u 切る Will sever. |
| Past form | ki-ta 着た Wore. |
*kir-ita (merges by sokuonbin 促音便.) kitta 切った Severed. |
| Negative form | ki-nai 着ない Won't wear. |
kir-anai 切らない Won't sever. |
| Volitional form | ki-you 着よう Let's wear. |
kir-ou 切ろう Let's cut. |
So -u verb means "the -u ending gets replaced"-verb, and -ru verb means "the -ru ending gets replaced"-verb.
To make matters more confusing, suru する and kuru 来る are irregular verbs that end in ~ru (sahen サ変 and kahen カ変 conjugation, respectively). These are neither -u verbs nor -ru verbs, because they don't follow a godan or an ichidan conjugation, e.g. their past forms are shita した and kita きた, respectively, so it's not only the ~u or ~ru that changes..
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