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Lesson 37 — 受身形うけみけい(passive)

BOOK II · 初級 II みんなの日本語 · Mini no Nihongo

L37 · passive 受身形

Name Date

REF受身形うけみけい(passive)

Making the passive

GroupRuleExample
1 godanu-row → a-row + れる
1 · う-endingう → われる
2 ichidanる → られる
3 irreg.—

All passives conjugate as Group II.

Group II passive is identical in shape to its potential form (食たべられる) — only context distinguishes them.

1. Direct passive — 人ひと1 は 人ひと2 に V-passive

2. Suffering / indirect passive (迷惑めいわくの受身うけみ)

Something happened to your disadvantage.

PatternExample
weather / uncontrollable
intransitive suffering

This has no direct English equivalent — English says "my brother ate my cake". Japanese marks the victim as the subject. Note the possessed item still takes を.

3. Passive with no agent (events & things)

Used when the agent is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant — common in news and formal writing.

4. 〜によって — agent of creation or discovery

Use によって (not に) with verbs of creating, inventing, discovering, designing, building.

5. Materials: 〜から / 〜で 作つくられます

ParticleConditionExample
source transformed, no longer recognizable
material still visible

Set expressions会話かいわ

Key vocabulary

褒ほめます叱しかります招待しょうたいします頼たのみます盗ぬすみます踏ふみます壊こわします汚よごします輸出ゆしゅつします輸入ゆにゅうします翻訳ほんやくします発明はつめいします発見はっけんしますデザインします建たてます行おこないます作つくります泥棒どろぼう会議かいぎ絵え材料ざいりょうデータコンピューター

詳説 In depth — grammar notes

Making the 受身形うけみけい (passive)

GroupRuleExample
I (godan)final kana → あ-row + れる
II (ichidan)drop る, add られる
III

Every passive verb behaves as a Group II verb from then on: .

Verbs ending in う take わ in the あ-row, not あ: ✕ · ○. Same rule as the ない-form.

For Group II verbs the passive and the potential are identical — is both "can eat" and "is eaten". Only the particles and the context tell them apart: (potential, が) vs (passive, に).

1. Direct passive — 人1 は 人2 に V-passive

The person affected is the topic; the doer takes に.

ActivePassive
JapaneseEnglish
As a child I was often scolded by my mother.
A stranger asked me the way.
I was asked my opinion in the meeting.

When a body part or a possession is affected, Japanese puts the person first and leaves the thing marked with を: .

Both are grammaticalWhat each one says
I was wronged — the cake was mine and my brother ate it
a neutral report about the cake — it got eaten

Only the first carries the sense of having been put upon, which is what this lesson is for. Prefer it; the second is not a mistake, and you will hear it.

2. 迷惑めいわくの受身 — the suffering passive

Japanese can make a passive out of an intransitive verb, which English cannot. It says: this happened, and it was a nuisance to me.

JapaneseEnglish (the feeling matters more than the words)
I got rained on.
The baby cried (on me) and I couldn't sleep.
A friend turned up and I couldn't study.
Someone stepped on my foot on the train.

There is no neutral reading here. is a nice visit; is an interruption. Do not use the suffering passive unless you mean the complaint.

3. No agent at all — events and things

When who did it is irrelevant (news, notices, facts about the world), the passive drops the agent entirely.

JapaneseEnglish
The meeting will be held from ten.
This building was built in 1970.
Rice is grown in Japan.
English is spoken here.
The Olympics are held once every four years.

This is the register of signs, reports and textbooks. The topic is the thing, and が / は mark it — no に anywhere.

4. 〜によって — the maker or the discoverer

For works and discoveries, the agent takes によって, not に.

JapaneseEnglish
The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu.
The telephone was invented by Bell.
The Americas were discovered by Columbus.
Agent markerUse
an ordinary doer, usually a person affecting a person
the creator, inventor or discoverer of something that now exists

5. Materials: 〜から / 〜で 作つくられます

MarkerWhenExample
the material has been transformed and no longer looks itself
the material is still visible in the product
発明はつめいします発見はっけんします建たてます行おこないます輸出ゆしゅつします輸入ゆにゅうします

Error table

✕○Why
う-verbs take わ in the あ-row
in a suffering passive the cause takes に
no agent — the passive is required
creator takes によって
the grape is no longer recognisable

Try translating

EnglishJapanese
I was scolded by my teacher.
Someone stepped on my foot.
I got rained on and got soaked.
The meeting will be held on Friday.
This temple was built 400 years ago.
Wine is made from grapes.

練習 Practice — 10 questions

  1. Q1 G1 · passive

    Passive form of 書かきます

    書 か
    く
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A godan: u→a + れる. (書かける = potential, 書かかせる = causative)
  2. Q2 G1 · う-ending

    Passive form of 言いいます

    言 い
    う
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B う → われる
  3. Q3 G2 · passive

    Passive form of 食たべます

    食 た
    べ
    る
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B ichidan: る→られる (same shape as potential)
  4. Q4 G3 · passive

    Passive of します /来きます

    す
    る
    ・
    来 く
    る
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A される /来こられる(こられる)
  5. Q5 direct passive

    'I was praised by the manager.'

    直接受身 ちょくせつうけみ
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A 人ひと1は 人ひと2に + passive
  6. Q6 suffering passive

    'My little brother ate my cake (on me).'

    迷惑受身 めいわくうけみ
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    A Adversity passive: victim は + 人ひとに + 物ものを + passive
  7. Q7 suffering passive

    'I got rained on and it was a problem.'

    雨 あめ
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B 雨あめに降ふられる — fixed adversity expression
  8. Q8 agentless passive

    'This temple was built 300 years ago.'

    無生物主語 むせいぶつしゅご
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Agent unimportant → は + passive
  9. Q9 creator agent

    'The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu.'

    に
    よ
    っ
    て
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B Creation/discovery → によって, not に
  10. Q10 material

    'Wine is made from grapes.' (transformed)

    か
    ら
    1. A
    2. B
    3. C
    4. D
    B から = source transformed beyond recognition; で = material still visible

解答 Answer key

  1. Q1 A godan: u→a + れる. (書かける = potential, 書かかせる = causative)
  2. Q2 B う → われる
  3. Q3 B ichidan: る→られる (same shape as potential)
  4. Q4 A される /来こられる(こられる)
  5. Q5 A 人ひと1は 人ひと2に + passive
  6. Q6 A Adversity passive: victim は + 人ひとに + 物ものを + passive
  7. Q7 B 雨あめに降ふられる — fixed adversity expression
  8. Q8 B Agent unimportant → は + passive
  9. Q9 B Creation/discovery → によって, not に
  10. Q10 B から = source transformed beyond recognition; で = material still visible