Passive Form (〜られる): How the Japanese Passive Works
What it means
The passive lets you make the receiver of an action the subject of the sentence, instead of the doer. In English we do this with "be + past participle" ("was read," "was eaten"). In Japanese you change the verb itself into its passive form and mark the doer — the person who actually did the action — with に.
There are two big uses. The first is the plain passive, often used to describe facts or things done to a subject. The second is the suffering (adversity) passive, where the grammar signals that the subject was inconvenienced or hurt by the action — even when English would not use a passive at all.
この本は多くの人に読まれている。
この ほんは おおくの ひとに よまれて いる。
This book is read by many people.
Plain passive: the book is the subject; readers are marked with に.
先生はみんなに尊敬されている。
せんせいは みんなに そんけいされて いる。
The teacher is respected by everyone.
ヤッタンは弟にケーキを食べられた。
ヤッタンは おとうとに ケーキを たべられた。
Yattan had his cake eaten by his little brother.
Suffering passive — Yattan is the affected (and annoyed) party.
How to form it
The pattern depends on the verb group, just like the potential form:
| Verb type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| る-verbs | drop る → add られる | 食べる → 食べられる; 見る → 見られる |
| う-verbs | final u-sound → a-sound + れる | 書く → 書かれる; 読む → 読まれる |
| う-verbs ending in う | う → わ (not あ) + れる | 言う → 言われる; 使う → 使われる |
| する (irregular) | → される | 招待する → 招待される |
| 来る (irregular) | → 来られる (こられる) | 来る → 来られる |
Every passive verb ends in 〜れる/〜られる, so it conjugates as a る-verb: past 〜られた / 〜れた, negative 〜られない / 〜れない, て-form 〜られて / 〜れて.
The う→わ point catches a lot of learners. For verbs ending in the kana う, the a-row form is わ, not あ: 言う → 言われる, 思う → 思われる, 買う → 買われる.
The doer takes に
In a passive sentence, the person who performed the action is marked with に:
ヤッタンはモチにほめられた。
ヤッタンは モチに ほめられた。
Yattan was praised by Mochi.
Doer (Mochi) → に; affected subject (Yattan) → は.
新しい言葉は先生に説明された。
あたらしい ことばは せんせいに せつめいされた。
The new words were explained by the teacher.
The suffering (adversity) passive
This is the use that feels foreign to English speakers. Japanese can put the affected person in the subject position even when the action wasn't done to them directly — to show they were bothered or hurt by it. The thing acted on still takes を.
ヤッタンは弟にノートを破られた。
ヤッタンは おとうとに ノートを やぶられた。
Yattan had his notebook torn by his little brother.
The に弟…を破られた frame tells you Yattan suffered for it.
ヤッタンは雨に降られて、ぬれてしまった。
ヤッタンは あめに ふられて、ぬれて しまった。
Yattan got rained on and ended up soaked.
Even rain can be a 'doer' in the suffering passive.
Notice the second example: 降る ("to fall/rain") has no object at all, yet the passive still works to show Yattan was the victim of the weather. That intransitive suffering passive simply doesn't exist in English — we have to add words like "got" or "ended up."
Passive vs. potential — same shape for る-verbs
For る-verbs, the passive looks identical to the potential: 食べられる can mean "is eaten (by someone)" or "can eat." Context decides:
- ケーキが弟に食べられた。→ passive: "The cake was eaten by the little brother."
- ヤッタンはケーキが食べられる。→ potential: "Yattan can eat cake."
The に doer and a を/が-marked object point to the passive; a が-marked thing-you-can-act-on points to the potential. (For う-verbs there's no overlap: passive 書かれる vs. potential 書ける look different.)
Common mistakes
- Forgetting う→わ. 言う becomes 言われる, not ×言あれる. Same for 思う→思われる, 買う→買われる.
- Marking the doer with が or で. The person who did the action takes に: 母にしかられた ("I was scolded by my mother"), not 母が/母で.
- Dropping を in the suffering passive. When something belonging to the subject is acted on, that thing keeps を: ケーキを食べられた, not ケーキが食べられた (which would just mean the cake was eaten).
- Confusing it with the potential. For る-verbs the forms match; check whether に (a doer) is present before reading 見られる as "was seen" vs. "can see."
Quick recap
- る-verbs → られる; う-verbs → a-sound + れる; する→される, 来る→来られる.
- う-ending verbs use わ: 言う→言われる.
- The doer is marked with に.
- The suffering passive puts the affected person as subject to show they were bothered; the object still takes を.
- For る-verbs the passive and potential look the same — context disambiguates.
Your turn
Form the passive and choose the right particle for the doer.
Start the 5-question drill →Take the full N4 passive drill →
Frequently asked questions
How do I make the passive form?
る-verbs drop る and add られる (食べる→食べられる). う-verbs change the final u-sound to the matching a-sound and add れる (書く→書かれる, 読む→読まれる). する→される and 来る→来られる (こられる).
Why does 言う become 言われる and not 言あれる?
Verbs ending in the kana う take わ (not あ) for the a-row form. So 言う→言われる, 思う→思われる, 買う→買われる.
Which particle marks the person who did the action?
に. The doer in a passive sentence is marked with に: ヤッタンはモチにほめられた ('Yattan was praised by Mochi').
What is the 'suffering passive'?
It puts the person who was negatively affected in the subject position, even when English wouldn't use a passive: ヤッタンは弟にケーキを食べられた ('Yattan had his cake eaten by his brother'). The thing acted on still takes を.
How is the passive different from the potential?
For る-verbs they look identical (食べられる = 'is eaten' or 'can eat'); context and the presence of a に-marked doer tell them apart. For う-verbs they differ: passive 書かれる vs. potential 書ける.