Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 1: 15/18

れる・られる (Passive)Was done to ~ by ~, Done without consent, Done to one's dismay

Structure

Examples:
［る1］Verb ￫ 見(み)る + られる
［る⁵］Verb ￫ 座(すわ)る + られる
［う］Verb ￫ 歌(うた)う + われる
［く］Verb ￫ 歩(ある)く + かれる
［す］Verb ￫ 話(はな)す + される
［つ］Verb ￫ 打(う)つ + たれる
［ぬ］Verb ￫ 死(し)ぬ + なれる
［ぶ］Verb ￫ 飛(と)ぶ + ばれる
［む］Verb ￫ 休(やす)む + まれる
［ぐ］Verb ￫ 泳(およ)ぐ + がれる

Exceptions:
する→される
くる→こられる

Details

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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.

する and くる behave slightly differently than most other verbs. For する, it will become される, while くる will become こられる.

As can be seen in these examples, the 'doer' of the verb will be marked with に, but から can also be used in cases where there is no physical contact with the subject.

Caution

られる can be used in several different situations. These are listed below.

Passive: 受(う)け身(み) - Something happens to the subject as a result of an external force (sometimes sounds negative).

Possible: 可能(かのう) - There is the possibility for something to be done.

Spontaneous: 自発(じはつ) - Something happens by itself, or 'without instigation'.

Respectful: 尊敬(そんけい) - 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(ぬ)き言葉(ことば)' 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'.

In both of these sentences, the meaning is exactly the same. However, ラ抜(ぬ)き may only be used when られる is being used to highlight 'possibility'.

Related

Examples

--:--

    私(わたし)のアイスクリームを兄(あに)に食(た)べられた。

    My ice cream was eaten by my brother.

    変(へん)な話(はなし)を親(おや)に聞(き)かれた。

    My strange conversation was overheard by my parents.

    私(わたし)は部屋(へや)をきれいにして、褒(ほ)められた。

    I was praised for cleaning my room.

    宿題(しゅくだい)をしたけど、持(も)って来(く)るのを忘(わす)れた。何(なん)と言(い)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(なに)をされてもいいけど、あいつらには絶対(ぜったい)に君(きみ)の名前(なまえ)を教(おし)えない。

    It doesn't matter what is done to me by them, I won't give up your name to them.

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Verb［れる・られる］ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (30 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Verb[Passive]

    Structure

    Verb Ex. dictionary form Ex. Conjugated
    V(る1) 見 る 見 られる
    V(る5) 座 る 座 られる
    V(う) 歌 う 歌 われる
    V(く) 歩 く 歩 かれる
    V(す) 話 す 話 される
    V(つ) 打 つ 打 たれる
    V(ぬ) 死 ぬ 死 なれる
    V(ぶ) 飛 ぶ 飛 ばれる
    V(む) 休 <...
  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    In this review sentence, why does に follow 義理の母?

    義理の母に家に来られたから、イライラしている。
    My mother-in-law came to my house, so I am irritated.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    In passive sentences, the person that performs the action (agent) is marked with に. The person/object that undergoes the action is marked with は/が.

    This is a typical example of suffering passive (from the post above), the speaker doesn’t like the visit very much.

    Another example:
    ものが泥棒に盗まれた。
    The thief stole food.

    The person performing the action is a thief, so he/she is marked with に.

    I hope it helps!
    Cheers,

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    Oh now I feel really silly haha! A much appreciated explanation. サンキュー！

  • mrthuvi

    mrthuvi

    何をされて も 、あいつらに君の名前を教しえない.

    The て here functions like an “if”, right?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @mrthuvi
    Hey and welcome on the community forums

    Very close!
    To be exact, ても means “even if”, in other words, it expresses a converse condition.

    Normal condition:
    アニメを見たらペラペラになる。
    If you watch anime, you will become fluent in Japanese.
    If condition A is true, the results in B arises.

    Converse condition:
    アニメを見たらペラペラにならない。
    Even if you watch anime, you won’t become fluent.
    Even if condition A is true, the (expected) B doesn’t arise.

    If ても is used with question words like 何 (what)、どこ (where)、いくら(how much)、どんなに, etc then it means “no matter what/where/how much…”, “whichever the case” outcome will not change, something has to be done, etc.

    So:

    何を

  • someone2020

    someone2020

    Active voice: パナソ〇〇クがこのカメラを作った。
    (Panaso c made this camera.)
    Passive voice: このカメラがパナソ〇〇クによって作られた。
    (This camera has been made by Panaso     c)

    Looks like your attempt at taking two letters out of Panasonic made markdown have its way and bold things unexpectedly

  • Johnathan-Weir

    Johnathan-Weir

    Does using てしまう with the passive form further increase the disappointment or does it just remove ambiguity about if we’re disappointed or not?

  • Johnathan-Weir

    Johnathan-Weir

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Johnathan-Weir

    Extremely good question!

    And I think you might find the answer interesting too, I hope it is fairly clear.

    The で particle can express cause (地震でコンサートが中心となっている, can be replaced with ため・せいで・によって and so on "Concert is canceled due to the Earthquake) and means, tool by which something is done (バスで行く to go by bus, can be replaced with によって too).

    Both meanings can appear in passive sentences.
    泥棒に銃で撃たれた。
    I have been shot by a robber with a gun. (means)

    In 「電話で起こされた。」 case, で most likely expresses the cause of the waking up. のせいで could be used to emphasize negative nuance even more.

    The key to choose the intended meaning is “intention” or being beyond the co...

  • Johnathan-Weir

    Johnathan-Weir

    @mrnoone

    In hindsight that’s really obvious. I was missing the implied 誰かに and instead thought the phone was doing the action.

    What about the てしまう thing?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Johnathan-Weir

    Yes It can be used together. Words like たいへん are also often added.

  • koko191

    koko191

    This is a tricky one for me. Potential form and passive form have the same conjugation rule with ichidan verbs. So how do I differentiate one from the other when I encounter one?
    アイスを食べられる is “I can eat my ice cream” or “my ice cream is gonna be eaten”?

  • rikvg

    rikvg

    The sentence with ても seems to still be in the wrong place, two lessons too early…

  • ljoekelsoey

    ljoekelsoey

    The passive form requires a subject marker to indicate it.
    私のアイスが食べられる - My ice cream will be eaten.

    The particle を indicates a direct action, in which case 食べられる is potential not passive.
    (私は)*私のアイスを食べられる - (I) can eat my ice cream.

    *note the subject of the sentence is also not explicitly said here, but rather implied by context.

  • Antlershy

    Antlershy

    This ても is now seven lessons early… seems like this might be happening to more N4 sentences as the grammar got reordered, I’ve already reported a couple others.
    Your explanations are very helpful though.

  • Snoway32

    Snoway32

    The passive form requires a subject marker to indicate it.
    私のアイスが食べられる - My ice cream will be eaten.

    The particle を indicates a direct action, in which case 食べられる is potential not passive.
    (私は)*私のアイスを食べられる - (I) can eat my ice cream.

    This explanation is incorrect, right? Afaik, the second one could also be the suffering passive, where I am suffering someone who eats my ice cream.

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    Hi, I thought short form meant it would be れる insted of られる, but it seems I got it wrong.

  • IcyIceBear

    IcyIceBear

    The short form usually refers to the non ます , casual form.

    Like 食べる vs 食べます

  • MikkaT

    MikkaT

    Thanks. I was so expecting the shortening of the form that I did not consider this in that case. Seems a bit unneccessary there.

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