Structure
Examples:
［る1］Verb ￫ 見る + られる
［る⁵］Verb ￫ 座る + られる
［う］Verb ￫ 歌う + われる
［く］Verb ￫ 歩く + かれる
［す］Verb ￫ 話す + される
［つ］Verb ￫ 打つ + たれる
［ぬ］Verb ￫ 死ぬ + なれる
［ぶ］Verb ￫ 飛ぶ + ばれる
［む］Verb ￫ 休む + まれる
［ぐ］Verb ￫ 泳ぐ + がれる
Exceptions:
する→される
くる→こられる
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Standard
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一般
About Verb［れる・られる］
In Japanese, there are several ways to express that something 'passively' happens. All of these are done with the auxiliary verbs れる and られる. Japanese verbs in the passive form behave in a slightly different way than they do in English, so we will examine this difference more closely later. For now, let's focus on れる, られる, and される (the form used with する verbs).
Passivity in Japanese means that the person (or thing) that is the target of the action will be the subject of the sentence, rather than the person that is 'doing' whatever verb is being used.
You can conjugate any Japanese verb into the passive form in the following way. For う-Verbs (godan verbs), simply replace the last kana with the equivalent あ sound kana from the same row (す becomes さ, つ becomes た, ぶ becomes ば, う becomes わ, like with ない, and so on), then add れる, or られる. For る-Verbs (ichidan verbs), just replace the る with られる.
Passive: 受け身 - Something happens to the subject as a result of an external force (sometimes sounds negative).
Possible: 可能 - There is the possibility for something to be done.
Spontaneous: 自発 - Something happens by itself, or 'without instigation'.
Respectful: 尊敬 - You are respecting someone by making them the subject of the sentence, despite someone else actually performing the verb.
Traditionally, many textbooks use the term 'passive', simply because there is no equivalent verb type in English (passive is the closest). However, we would like to introduce the term 'displacement verb'. This just means that the subject of the sentence is being described in a similar way to what happens in keigo (polite speech).
ら may be removed - る-Verbs and くる, when the meaning is 'possible'.
ら may not be removed - る-Verbs and くる, when the meaning is 'passive', 'spontaneous', or 'respectful'.
Passivity in Japanese means that the person (or thing) that is the target of the action will be the subject of the sentence, rather than the person that is 'doing' whatever verb is being used.
You can conjugate any Japanese verb into the passive form in the following way. For う-Verbs (godan verbs), simply replace the last kana with the equivalent あ sound kana from the same row (す becomes さ, つ becomes た, ぶ becomes ば, う becomes わ, like with ない, and so on), then add れる, or られる. For る-Verbs (ichidan verbs), just replace the る with られる.
- 犬に噛まれるのが怖いから、犬には近づけない。Because I am afraid of getting bitten by a dog, I can't approach them.
- 私はいつも彼と比べられる。I always get compared to him.
- 知らない人からいたずらをされるのがきらい。I don't like being pranked by strangers.
- 急に義理の母に来られると困る。I feel troubled when my mother in law visits unannounced.
Caution
られる can be used in several different situations. These are listed below.Passive: 受け身 - Something happens to the subject as a result of an external force (sometimes sounds negative).
Possible: 可能 - There is the possibility for something to be done.
Spontaneous: 自発 - Something happens by itself, or 'without instigation'.
Respectful: 尊敬 - You are respecting someone by making them the subject of the sentence, despite someone else actually performing the verb.
Fun Fact
In Japanese, passivity focuses on the lack of control of the subject of the sentence. Due to this, the subject will sometimes be called the なる人, while the doer of the verb is called the する人.Traditionally, many textbooks use the term 'passive', simply because there is no equivalent verb type in English (passive is the closest). However, we would like to introduce the term 'displacement verb'. This just means that the subject of the sentence is being described in a similar way to what happens in keigo (polite speech).
Caution
But wait, what about れる with る-Verbs! Well, in Japanese, ら removal words 'ラ抜き言葉' are very common. These are words that are able to use れる, instead of られる. The original meaning of both of these auxiliary verbs is exactly the same, but there are cases where ら may not be removed. The standard rules are as follows.ら may be removed - る-Verbs and くる, when the meaning is 'possible'.
ら may not be removed - る-Verbs and くる, when the meaning is 'passive', 'spontaneous', or 'respectful'.
- 私はどこでも寝れます。I can sleep anywhere. (I have the potential to sleep anywhere)
- 私はどこでも寝られる。I can sleep anywhere. (I have the potential to sleep anywhere)
Synonyms
れる・られる (Potential)
To be able, Can (Potential)
Not studied yet
Verb［せる・させる］
To make/let/have (somebody do something)
Not studied yet
Causative-Passive
Verbs (Causative-passive voice), To be made to do something, To be forced to do
Not studied yet
れる・られる + ままに
Do as (one is told or ordered…), In accordance with, In compliance with, Just like
Not studied yet
Examples
私のアイスクリームを兄に食べられた。
My ice cream was eaten by my brother.
変な話を親に聞かれた。
My strange conversation was overheard by my parents.
私は部屋を綺麗にして、褒められた。
I was praised for cleaning my room.
宿題をしたけど、持って来るのを忘れた。何を言われるかな。
Even though I did my homework, I forgot to bring it with me. I wonder what will be said to me.
私はあいつらに何をされてもいいけど、あいつらには絶対に君の名前を教えない。
It doesn't matter what is done to me by them, but I won't give up your name to them.
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Verb［れる・られる］ – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (28 in total)
Aikibujin
Ah gotcha! Thank you
paprikayes
Hi all, I find myself confused by the intricacies of passive form pretty often. The thing that gets me most is the use of に to describe the “actor” of a passive sentence. I understand that generally the subject of a passively-conjugated verb in a sentence is the “receiver” of an action performed by the “actor” that may or may not be explicitly made clear. If we do want to specify a someone or something as performing the action on the subject, we can mark it with に.
I find that in practice this rule is broken pretty often, unless I am misinterpreting the grammatical rules or passive conjugations entirely. For instance, this sentence appears as an example in the ”こそ” grammar point:
それこそ 僕に与えられた使命だと思っています
I think that is why I was chosen for the errand.
Should...
nekoyama
に can mark the actor in a passive construction.
に can also mark the target of 与える.
So this sentence is technically ambiguous.
But it doesn’t really sound like something one would say about a mission given by the speaker to some unnamed third party, so it’s probably the second case where 僕 is the target for 与える.If the entity that gave 僕 the mission was stated, it could be marked with から and there would be no ambiguity.
が would mark the thing that is being 与えられる’d, which is 使命. In this sentence it has become the head of the relative clause instead, but if this wasn’t a relative clause e.g. in a sentence like 僕に使命が与えられた, then 使命 would be what gets marked with が.
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