Passive Form
Learn how to express that someone is affected by an action using the Passive Form.
Introduction to the Passive Form
The Passive Form is used to describe an action from the perspective of the person or thing receiving the action. In Japanese, it is often used to express that someone is adversely affected by an action (the "suffering passive").
Passive Form Conjugation
The conjugation rules for the passive form are similar to those of the potential form, but with different endings.
For Group I verbs, change the final '~u' sound to its corresponding '~a' sound and add れる.
| Dictionary Form | Passive Form |
|---|---|
買うかう | 買われるかわれる |
待つまつ | 待たれるまたれる |
帰るかえる | 帰られるかえられる |
飲むのむ | 飲まれるのまれる |
死ぬしぬ | 死なれるしなれる |
遊ぶあそぶ | 遊ばれるあそばれる |
書くかく | 書かれるかかれる |
泳ぐおよぐ | 泳がれるおよがれる |
話すはなす | 話されるはなされる |
Conjugation Examples
- I was asked by my teacher.
先生に質問されました。
- I was laughed at by my friends.
友達に笑われました。
- I was spoken to by a stranger.
道で知らない人に話しかけられました。
- I was helped by everyone.
困っているとき、みんなに助けられました。
Direct Passive
In a direct passive sentence, the person who receives the action becomes the subject (marked by は), and the person who performs the action is marked by に.
Examples
- I was praised by my boss.
私は部長に褒められました。
- I was invited by Tanaka-san.
昨日、田中さんに映画に招待されました。
- I was scolded by the teacher.
授業中、居眠りをして先生に叱られました。
Possessive Passive
The pattern ~ に ~ を [Verb-Passive] is used when someone performs an action on something that belongs to you, and you are affected (usually negatively) by it.
Examples
- My bag was stolen by a thief.
電車の中で、泥棒にカバンを盗まれました。
- My homework was eaten by the dog.
目を離した隙に、犬に宿題をボロボロに食べられました。
- My shoes were dirtied by my younger brother.
雨の日に、弟に新しい靴を汚されました。
Indirect (Adversative) Passive
Japanese can use the passive form even with intransitive verbs. This usually implies that the speaker was inconvenienced or negatively affected (~ に [Verb-Passive]) by the action.
Note: This is unique to Japanese and often has no direct equivalent in English.
Examples
- It rained on me (I was caught in the rain).
昨日、遊びに行くときに雨に降られてしまいました。
- A baby cried next to me (and I was troubled).
昨夜は、隣の部屋の赤ちゃんに一晩中泣かれました。
- A friend left (and I was lonely/troubled).
仕事が忙しいときに、同僚に急に帰られました。
Passive with Non-human Subjects
When an action is performed by an unspecified group or when the focus is on the action itself, the subject can be a thing or a general event. In this case, に is often replaced by によって if the creator/agent is a specific individual.
Examples
- The 2020 Olympics were held in Tokyo.
2020年に東京でオリンピックが開かれました。
- This temple was built 500 years ago.
この歴史的なお寺は、約500年前に建てられました。
- This book was written by a famous author.
この有名な小説は、多くの言語に翻訳されています。