【Passive Voice】れる/られる　

 


1. What is 受け身（うけみ） (Passive voice)?

The passive form in Japanese is used when the subject of the sentence receives an action, rather than performing it.
It’s similar to the English passive voice (“The book was read by me”).




2. How to form Passive 

(1) U-verbs (Godan-verbs)

Change the final u → a row + れる(reru)

Example:
書く(kaku) → 書かれる(kakareru) (to be written)
読む(yomu) → 読まれる(yomareru) (to be read)

(2) Ru-verbs (Ichidan-verbs)

Drop る(ru), add られる(rareru)

Example:
食べる(taberu) → 食べられる(taberareru) (to be eaten)
見る(miru) → 見られる(mirareru) (to be seen)

(3) Irregular verbs

する(suru) → される(sareru)
来る(kuru)→ 来られる(korareru)





2. Types of Passive in Japanese

Japanese has 2 main uses of passive:

(A) Direct Passive

Definition

The subject of the sentence is directly affected by the action. 

Structure : X が Y に Verb-れる  (X = person affected, Y = actor)

Examples

  • 私は 先生に ほめられた。(Watashi wa sensei ni homerareta.) (I was praised by the teacher.)

          【ほめられた　　Dictionary Form : ほめる(to praise)】

  • 彼は 犬に かまれた。(Kare wa inu ni kamareta.)(He was bitten by a dog.)

　　　【かまれた　　　Dictionry Form : かむ(to bite)】

In direct passive, the subject itself is the one receiving the action.

(B) Indirect Passive

Definition

The subject is not the direct target of the action (the object is the direct target of the action), but is indirectly affected, usually in a negative way.

Structure

X は Y に Z を Verb-れる (X = person indirectly affected, Y = actor, Z = object)

Examples

  • 私は 兄に ケーキを 食べられた。(Watashi wa ani ni kēki wo taberareta.)

    ( I got my cake eaten by my brother. (and I was negatively affected because it was mine).)

　　【たべられた   　   Dictionary Form:たべる(to eat)】

Even though “私” was not eaten, I suffered because my cake was eaten.

  • 彼女は 友達に 秘密を 言われた。(Kanojo wa tomodachi ni himitsu wo iwareta.)

    (She got her secret revealed by her friend. (and she suffered because of it).)

　　【いわれた　　　  Dictionary Form:いう(to say)】

  • 私は犬にコップを割られた。(Watashi wa inu ni koppu wo warareta.)

    (My dog broke my cup.)

    【われれた　　　Dictionary Form : わる(to break (something made by glass))】



まとめ (Key distinctions)

  • Direct Passive: The subject itself receives the action.

  • Indirect Passive: The subject is indirectly affected, often with a negative nuance.

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