If you’ve reached intermediate Japanese, you’ve hit the wall: passive (受身形 うけみけい) and causative (使役形 しえきけい). And then there’s the boss-level combo: passive-causative. Let’s break them down so they make sense.
Part 1: The Passive Form (〜れる / 〜られる)
Conjugation Rules
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| u-verb | Change final -u to -areru | 読む → 読まれる |
| ru-verb | Drop -る, add -られる | 食べる → 食べられる |
| する | される | 勉強する → 勉強される |
| 来る | 来られる (こられる) | — |
Three Uses of the Passive
- Direct passive: 私は先生に褒められた。(I was praised by the teacher.)
- Indirect passive (suffering passive): 雨に降られた。(I got rained on.) — uniquely Japanese!
- Respectful passive: 先生が話された。(The teacher spoke.) — just adds politeness.
The Suffering Passive: This is what makes Japanese passive unique. You can passivize intransitive verbs to show you were negatively affected. 彼女に泣かれた (She cried on me = I was troubled by her crying). English can’t do this!
Part 2: The Causative Form (〜せる / 〜させる)
Conjugation Rules
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| u-verb | Change final -u to -aseru | 読む → 読ませる |
| ru-verb | Drop -る, add -させる | 食べる → 食べさせる |
| する | させる | 勉強する → 勉強させる |
| 来る | 来させる (こさせる) | — |
Two Meanings
- Make someone do: 先生は学生に漢字を書かせた。(The teacher made students write kanji.)
- Let someone do: 母は私を行かせてくれた。(My mother let me go.)
Part 3: The Passive-Causative Combo (〜させられる)
Meaning: “I was made to do...” (against my will)
食べさせられる = I’m forced to eat
走らせられる → 走らされる (shortened form: common in speech)
毎日残業させられている。(I’m being made to work overtime every day.)
子供のとき、ピアノを練習させられた。(As a kid, I was made to practice piano.)
How to Memorize These Forms
These forms have complex conjugation patterns that you’ll only internalize through repeated exposure and active recall. Kanjijo’s SRS system drills verb forms in context — you see the sentence, recall the form, and the algorithm spaces reviews perfectly so you never forget.
Drill passive, causative, and every other form through spaced repetition flashcards. Free on iOS.