The general pattern for the passive voice is -u becomes -areru.
| Type | Passive | Examples | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irregular verbs | |||
| する suru | される sareru | 勉強する benkyō suru (study) | 勉強される benkyō sareru |
| 来る kuru (come) | 来られる korareru | ||
| Regular consonant stem (v5) verbs | |||
| -う -u | -われる -wareru | 使う tsukau (use) | 使われる tsukawareru |
| -く -ku | -かれる -kareru | 焼く yaku (grill) | 焼かれる yakareru |
| -ぐ -gu | -がれる -gareru | 泳ぐ oyogu (swim) | 泳がれる oyogareru |
| -す -su | -される -sareru | 示す shimesu (show) | 示される shimesareru |
| -つ -tsu | -たれる -tareru | 待つ matsu (wait) | 待たれる matareru |
| -ぬ -nu | -なれる -nareru | 死ぬ shinu (die) | 死なれる shinareru |
| -ぶ -bu | -ばれる -bareru | 呼ぶ yobu (call) | 呼ばれる yobareru |
| -む -mu | -まれる -mareru | 読む yomu (read) | 読まれる yomareru |
| -る -ru | -られる -rareru | 走る hashiru (run) | 走られる hashirareru |
| Regular vowel stem (v1) verbs | |||
| -る -ru | -られる -rareru | 見る miru 食べる taberu |
見られる mirareru 食べられる taberareru |
- The -る -ru ending of the passives becomes the new verb ending. This conjugates as a vowel stem verb. Thus past, -て -te, or polite forms can all be added to the verb.
- The copula, だ da, does not form a passive.
- For the -ます masu form, the -ます -masu is added to the passive of the plain verb.
Usage
The passive is used:
- as a passive: このテレビは東芝によって作られた kono terebi wa Toshiba ni yotte tsukurareta: "This TV was made by Toshiba."
- as a suffering passive, indicating that a regrettable thing was done to someone: 私は友達にビールを飲まれた watashi wa tomodachi ni biiru o nomareta: "I had (my) beer drunk by a friend" (and I am not happy about it).
- as a form of respectful language: どちらへ行かれますか dochira e ikaremasu ka: "Where are you going?"
Read more about this topic: Japanese Verb Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the word passive:
“The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread.... The least energizing emotion to write out of is admiration. It is very difficult to write out of because the basic feeling that goes with admiration is a passive contemplative mood.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“...if you are to gain any great amount of good from the world, you must attain a passive condition of mind. ...it is never to be forgotten that it is the rest of the world and not you that holds the great share of the world’s wealth, and that you must allow yourself to be acted upon by the world, if you would become a sharer in the gain of all the ages to your own infinite advantage.”
—Anna C. Brackett (1836–1911)
“We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice—that is, until we have stopped saying “It got lost,” and say, “I lost it.””
—Sydney J. Harris (b. 1917)