られる / れる (Passive Voice)

られる / れる (Passive Voice) Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Auxiliary Verb

Essential Meaning: Be ~ed / Get ~ed (indicates the passive voice)

Construction: 

• Group 1 Verbs: Negative Stem + れる
  • E.g. 話はなされる [To be told]
• Group 2 Verbs: Positive Stem + られる
  • E.g. 食たべられる [To be eaten]
• Irregular Verbs
  • 来くる = 来こられる [To have X come]
  • する = される [To be done]

Notes:

• The Japanese passive voice is similar but not identical to the English passive voice. The Japanese passive voice takes two different forms: (1) direct passive and (2) indirect passive.
  • (1) The direct passive voice
    • The “direct passive” is analogous to the English passive voice in which an action is described from the viewpoint of the object of the action (i.e. the direct or indirect object) rather than from the viewpoint of the agent of the action. Every direct passive sentence has a corresponding active sentence; the direct / indirect object of a passive sentence becomes the subject of its corresponding passive sentence. Also note that the verb in a direct passive construction must be transitive.
      • E.g. Active: 花子はなこは一郎いちろうをだました。[Hanako deceived Ichiro.]
      • E.g. Passive: 一郎いちろうは花子はなこにだまされた。[Ichiro was deceived by Hanako.]
    • In a direct passive construction, the passive subject is marked by は or が. The agent of the action is marked by に (Passive / Causative) but may be omitted entirely if the agent is unknown or irrelevant.
      • E.g. このビールは三年前さんねんまえに建たてられた。[This building was built 3 years ago.] The agent who built the building is irrelevant, so he or she is not included in the sentence.
      • E.g. 一郎いちろうは花子はなこにだまされた。[Ichiro was deceived by Hanako.] The agent (花子はなこ) is marked by に (Passive / Causative).
    • An indirect object can be used as the subject of a passive sentence. Each of these sentences also has an active voice equivalent.
      • E.g. Active: ジョンは先生せんせいに質問しつもんをした。[John asked the teacher a question.] The indirect object of the active sentence is 先生せんせい (marked by the indirect object marker に).
      • E.g. Passive: 先生せんせいはジョンに質問しつもんをされた。[The teacher was asked a question by John.] In this example, the indirect object (先生せんせい) become the subject of the passive sentence.
    • In some cases, the agent of passive sentences may be marked by particles other than に (Passive / Causative), such as によって or から. Generally speaking, によって is used in impersonal, formal contexts and with non-human subjects. から is used when the agent of the action acts as a source of something (e.g. a source of knowledge).
      • E.g. この絵えはピカソによってかかれた。[This painting was drawn by Picasso.] The subject (絵え) is non-human, so によって is the appropriate particle.
      • E.g. 電話でんわはベルによって発明はつめいされた。[The telephone was invented by Bell.] The subject (電話でんわ) is non-human, so によって is the appropriate particle.
      • E.g. 私わたしは学生がくせいから日本にほんの大学だいがくのことを聞きかれた。[I was asked about Japanese universities by a student.] The student is the “source” from which the questions came, so から is the appropriate particle.
      • E.g. 木田きださんはみんなからそんけいされている。[Kida-san is respected by everyone.] Everyone is the “source” from which the respect comes, so から is the appropriate particle.
      • E.g. *その時計とけいは泥棒どろぼうから盗ぬすまれた。[That watch was stolen by a thief.] The thief can not be considered the “source” of the physical act of stealing. に (Passive / Causative) would be the appropriate particle choice.
  • (2) The indirect passive voice
    • The “indirect passive” does not have a direct English equivalent. In an indirect passive sentence, some human agent performs an action that affects a human subject in some way (typically in a negative way). For example, consider this sentence: ジェーンはフレッドに夜よる遅おそくアパートに来こられた。[Jen had her apartment come to late at night by Fred.] In this sentence, Fred is the agent (marked by に (Passive / Causative)) who performs the action of coming to Jen’s apartment late at night. Jen is the subject who is negatively affected by this passive action over which she had no volitional control. Note that with the indirect passive form, intransitive verbs may be used and direct objects can remain in place.
      • E.g. 私わたしは二年前にねんまえ妻つまに死しなれた。[My wife died two years ago (which caused me sorrow).] In this example, the intransitive verb 死しぬ [To die] is used in the indirect passive voice.
      • E.g. 原田はらださんは奥おくさんに高たかいコーヒを買かわれた。[Harada-san’s wife bought an expensive coat (which annoyed him).] In this example, the direct object (コート) remains in place.
    • Just like the direct passive, each indirect passive sentence has a corresponding active sentence.
      • E.g. Active: クリスはマークのビールを飲のんだ。[Chris drank Mark’s beer.] The active voice emphasizes Chris’s volitional decision to drink Mark’s beer.
      • E.g. Passive: マークはクリスにビールを飲のまれた。[Mark had his beer drunk by Chris (which annoyed him).] The indirect passive voice emphasizes Mark’s lack of volition and his negative emotion over having his beer drunk by Chris.
      • Sometimes the negative passive can be a positive situation.
        • E.g. 高山たかやまさんは美人びじんによこに座すわられてニコニコしている。[Takayama-san had a beautiful women sit next to him, so he is smiling.] In this example, the woman sits next to Takayama-san, which is an act that Takayama-san has no control over and which causes him to feel happy.
      • If an indirect passive sentence contains a noun phrase marked by に (e.g. a propositional phrase, an indirect object, etc.) in addition to the agent who is marked by に (Passive / Causative), the agent must come before the noun particle.
        • E.g. 私わたしはトムにメアリーに電話でんわされた。[Tom called Mary (which annoyed me).] In this example, に marks the agent (i.e. トム) as well as the indirect object (i.e. メアリー). Thus, トム must precede Mary in the sentence.

• The passive voice can also be used to convey politeness. The reason is that the passive voice makes the sentence less direct, which thereby makes the sentence more polite. The passive voice is slightly less honorific than お~になる. This honorific passive voice can be distinguished from of the normal passive voice by context and by a lack of an agent marked by に (Passive / Causative).
  • E.g. 田中たなか先生せんせいは日本にほんへ帰かえられた。[Tanaka-sensei returned to Japan.]

• The passive verb endings られる and れる conjugate as Group 2 verbs (話はなされる, 話はなされない, 話はなされて, 話はなされた, etc.).

• The passive and potential forms of Group 2 verbs conjugate identically. The two forms can be distinguished through the following context clues:
  • (1) If the direct object is marked by が, it is a potential form.
    • E.g. 先生せんせいは刺身さしみが食たべられる。[The teacher is able to eat sashimi.] The direct object is marked by が, indicating that this is a potential form. This is an instance of the ~は~が structure.
  • (2) If there is an agent marked by に (Passive / Causative), the sentence is passive.
    • E.g. 先生せんせいは学生がくせいに刺身さしみを食たべられた。[The teacher had his sashimi eaten by the student.] The agent (学生がくせい) is marked by に (Passive / Causative), indicating that this is a passive sentence.
  • (3) If there is a direct object marked by を and no agent marked by に (Passive / Causative), the sentence is ambiguous. It could be passive, potential, or honorific.
    • E.g. 先生せんせいは刺身さしみを食たべられた。 [The teacher had his sashimi eaten. / The teacher was able to eat sushi. / The teacher ate sashimi.] This sentence is ambiguous. It’s better to avoid ambiguity by using particles appropriately.

Example Sentences:

一郎いちろうは花子はなこにだまされた。[Ichiro was deceived by Hanako.]

ジェーンはフレッドに夜よる遅おそくアパートに来こられた。[Jen had her apartment come to late at night by Fred (which annoyed her).]

私わたしは弟おとうとにケーキを食たべられた。[I had my cake eaten by my brother (which annoyed me).]

田中たなか先生せんせいは日本にほんへ帰かえられた。[Tanaka-sensei returned to Japan.]

このビールは三年前さんねんまえに建たてられた。[This building was built 3 years ago.]

私わたしは二年前にねんまえ妻つまに死しなれた。[My wife died two years ago (which caused me sorrow).]

WILD Examples:

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