Passive Form in Japanese: Done to You, or Against You

The passive: done to, and done against you

The Group 2 passive looks identical to the potential (食べられる). Context, and the に marking the doer, tell them apart.

Short answer: the Japanese passive turns “A did something to B” into “B had something done by A”: 私は先生に褒められました, “I was praised by the teacher”. Group 1 verbs move to the a-row + れる (書く → 書かれる); Group 2 verbs take られる. Japanese also has a passive English lacks: the suffering passive, for things that happen to you against your wishes, even with intransitive verbs: 雨に降られた, “I got rained on”.

Forming the passive

Every passive verb is itself a Group 2 verb: 書かれます, 書かれない, 書かれた.

Passive	Meaning	From
kakareru	be written	書く
yomareru	be read	読む
iwareru	be told, be said	言う (う → わ)
nusumareru	be stolen	盗む
taberareru	be eaten	食べる
sareru	be done	する
korareru	have someone come (on you)	来る

The direct passive

The one English has: someone does something to the subject. The doer is marked with に.

私わたしwatashiIはwa(topic)先生せんせいsenseiteacherにniby褒められましたほめられましたhomeraremashitawas praised

Watashi wa sensei ni homeraremashita.“I was praised by the teacher.”Why: 褒める (praise) → 褒められる.

弟おとうとotōtomy brotherはwa(topic)犬いぬinua dogにniby噛まれましたかまれましたkamaremashitawas bitten

Otōto wa inu ni kamaremashita.“My brother was bitten by a dog.”Why: 噛む → 噛まれる.

財布さいふsaifuwalletをo(object)盗まれましたぬすまれましたnusumaremashitahad stolen

Saifu o nusumaremashita.“My wallet was stolen.”Why: Japanese says “I had my wallet stolen”: the owner is the subject, the wallet keeps を.

The suffering passive

Japanese uses the passive to say that an event affected you, usually badly. The thing that happened to you can even be someone else doing something to their own belongings, or the weather.

帰りかえりkaerion the way homeにni(time)雨あめamerainにniby降られましたふられましたfuraremashitawas rained on

Kaeri ni ame ni furaremashita.“I got caught in the rain on the way home.”Why: 降る cannot have an object, but the passive still works: the rain happened to me.

隣となりtonarinext doorのno’s人ひとhitopersonにniby夜よるyorunight騒がれてさわがれてsawagaretehad noise made, and眠れなかったねむれなかったnemurenakattacouldn’t sleep

Tonari no hito ni yoru sawagarete, nemurenakatta.“The neighbours were noisy all night and I couldn’t sleep.”Why: 騒ぐ (make noise) → 騒がれる: their noise was done to me.

子供こどもkodomochildにniby泣かれてなかれてnakaretehad cry on me困りましたこまりましたkomarimashitawas at a loss

Kodomo ni nakarete komarimashita.“The child started crying and I didn’t know what to do.”Why: The passive adds “and it was hard on me”.

によって: by, in formal passives

For creators, inventors and official actions, the doer takes によって instead of に.

The passive as respect

The passive form also works as light keigo for someone else’s actions: 先生が来られました, “the teacher came”. It is neutral, polite and common in business.

部長ぶちょうbuchōthe managerはwa(topic)もうmōalready帰られましたかえられましたkaeraremashitawent home (respectful)

Buchō wa mō kaeraremashita.“The manager has already gone home.”Why: Passive form used as respect, not passive meaning.

何時なんじnan-jiwhat timeにniat来られますかこられますかkoraremasu kawill you come? (respectful)

Nan-ji ni koraremasu ka.“What time will you be coming?”Why: Context shows it is respect, not potential.

このkonothis本ほんhonbookをo(object)読まれましたかよまれましたかyomaremashita kadid you read? (respectful)

Kono hon o yomaremashita ka.“Have you read this book?”Why: Softer than いらっしゃる-style keigo; good for colleagues.

Passive of feeling and thinking

Some verbs in the passive express things that come to mind by themselves: 思われる (it seems), 感じられる (it feels).

Check yourself

Try each one, then open the answer to check and hear it.

passive of 書く
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kakareruGroup 1: a-row + れる.
passive of 食べる
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taberareruGroup 2: + られる.
I was praised by the teacher.
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Sensei ni homeraremashita.The doer takes に.
My wallet was stolen.
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Saifu o nusumaremashita.The owner is the subject.
I got caught in the rain.
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Ame ni furaremashita.The suffering passive.

Passive in news and writing

Impersonal passives describe facts, history and general opinion.