受身 ( = ukemi) : Passive form

ukemifinal

Vinnie 「こんなのつけられた….」

= Konna no tsukerareta…

= I got this thingy put on me…

Hi everyone!

Special guest teacher, Vinnie Sensei, is back again!

Welcome back, Vinnie! Today he will be teaching us how to use the passive form in Japanese.

******

Hello again, I am Vinnie. 元気でしたか?= Genki deshitaka? = How have you been?

Maggie Sensei made a causative verb, させる ( = saseru ) & させられる( = saserareru)  lesson a long time ago.

Today we are going to learn the passive form.

⭐️ How to form:

られる ( = rareru) ・れる  ( = reru)

🔸 Group 1 verb  (u-verb)

聞く=きく=  kik-u = u verb

1) Make ない ( = nai)-stem

聞かない きかない = kikanai)

2) delete ない ( = nai)

聞か=きか (=kika)

3) add れる(=reru)

聞かれる=きかれる  (=kikareru)

(polite form)

add ます ( = remasu)

聞かます ( = kikaremasu)

🗒️ So basically make a nai-stem and add れる ( = reru) or ます ( = remasu)

*いう ( = iu ) = to say

いわ  ( = iwareru )= to be said

 (polite) いいます ( = iimasu)  

いわます  ( = iwaremasu )

*かく= to write

かかれる = to be written

 (polite) かきます = kakimasu = to write

かかます = kakaremasu = to be written

*おす=osu = to push

おされる = osareru = to be pushed

 (polite) おします ( = oshimasu ) = to push

おさます ( = osaremasu)  = to be pushed

*のむ = nomu= to drink

のまれる = nomareru = to be drunken

  (polite) のみます( = nomimasu )

のまます ( = nomaremasu)

*****

🔸  Group 2 verb (ru-verb)

食べる たべる =  tabe-ru =to eat

1) Make nai-stem

食べない  たべない (=tabenai)

2) delete ない  ( = nai)

食べ =たべ  ( = tabe)

3) add られる ( = rareru) or られます ( raremasu)

食べられる たべられる= taberareru)

(Polite form)

Add られます ( = raremasu)

食べられます たべられます ( =taberaremasu)

🔹Make a nai-stem and add られる ( = reru) or られます( = remasu)

 

*しらべる ( = shiraberu ) = to check  

しらべられる  = shiraberareru = to be checked

 (polite) しらべます ( = shirabemasu)

しらべられます ( = shiraberaremasu)

*みる  ( = miru)  = to see, to look

られる ( = mirareru) = to be seen, to be looked

 (polite)  みます ( = mimasu) 

られます( = miraremasu)

 

*****

🔸  Irregular

*する (  = suru )  = to do

れる  ( = sareru) to be done

(polite)します (  = shimasu )

ます  ( = saremasu)

*くる( = kuru ) = to come

られる = korareru

(polite)きます ( = kimasu)

られます ( = koraremasu) to have someone come

********************

Now I’m here because Maggie sensei invited me to teach here again.

Ex. マギー先生が私を呼びました。

= Maggie sensei ga watashi wo yobimashita.

= Maggie Sensei invited me.

Let’s make it to a passive form.

Ex. 私はマギー先生に呼ばました。

= Watashi wa Maggie Sensei ni yobaremashita.

= I was invited by Maggie Sensei.

We often omit the subject.

Ex. マギー先生に呼ばました。

= Maggie sensei ni yobaremashita.

****

Ex. 犬が(私を)噛む

= Inu ga (watashi wo) kamu

= A dog bites me

Passive

Ex. (私は)犬に噛まれる

= (Watashi wa) inu ni kamareru

= I am bitten by a dog.

past tense

Ex. (私は)犬に噛ま

= (Watshi wa inu ni kamareta)

= I was bitten by a dog.

Note:  I added the subject ( = watashi) to make it clear but again we usually skip the subject.

***

Ex. マギー先生が彼を褒めた。

= Maggie sensei ga kare wo hometa.

= Maggie sensei praised him.

Passive

Ex. 彼はマギー先生に褒められた。(showing the happy feeling)

= Kare wa Maggie Sensei ni homerareta.

= He was praised by Maggie Sensei.

Be careful! Technically any verb can be conjugated into passive form but sometimes it is not natural.

X ミルクはヴィニーによって飲また。(sounds strange)

= Miruku wa vinii ni yotte nomareta.

= Milk was drunk by Vinnie

 

It will be natural to say

Ex. ヴィニーはミルクを飲んだ。

= Viniie wa miruku wo nonda.

= Vinnie drank milk.

Note: Also the nuance is different but if you express the speaker’s feeling more, you can say

ミルクをヴィニーに飲また。

= Miruku wo Vinnie ni nomareta.

= I got my milk drunk by Vinnie.

In this case, the subject is a speaker.

Let’s look at some more example sentences. 

★to describe how things work/ things in general

Ex.この料理は東北地方で食べられます。

= Kono ryouri wa Touhoku chihou de taberaremasu.

= This dish is eaten in the Tohoku area.

The subject is “this dish”. You don’t have to say who eats the dish. We can tell from the sentence the hidden subject is people in Tohoku area.

Ex. この雑誌は多くの人に購読さています。

= Kono zasshi wa ooku no hito ni koudoku sarete imasu.

= This magazine is read by many people.

Ex. 今年の夏は猛暑になると言わています。

= Kotoshi no natsu wa mousho ni naru to iwarete imasu.

= It is said that it is going to be very hot this summer.

Ex. そんなこと言わなくてもわかっている。

= Sonna koto iwarenakute mo wakatteiru.

= I don’t have to be told such a thing. I am aware of it.

( You don’t have to tell me such a thing. I already know that.)

Ex. スペイン語は世界20ケ国以上で話さている言葉です。

= Supeingo wa sekai nijukkakoku ijou de hanasarete iru kotoba desu.

= Spanish is a language that is spoken in over 20 countries in the world.

Ex. 日本で一番飲まているビールはどこのビールですか?

= Nihon de ichiban nomarete iru biiru wa dokono biiru desu ka?

= What is the most popular beer in Japan?

Ex. 2020年のオリンピックは東京で開催さます。

= Nisen nijuu nen no orinpikku wa toukyou de kaisai saremasu.

= The 2020 Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo.

★Something is done/performed by someone

Ex. サグラダファミリアは建築家ガウディーによって設計さました。

= Sagurada famiria wa kenchikuka gaudii ni yotte sekkei saremashita.

= Sagrada Familia was designed by an architect, Gaudi.

Ex. 「ゲルニカ」はピカソによって1937年に描かた。

= “Gerunika” wa Pikaso ni yotte senkyuhyaku sanjuu nana nen ni egakareta.

=“Guernica” was painted by Picasso.

★Sometimes you can’t tell who did/does the action.

Ex.新しいペンキが塗られた壁

= Atarashii penki ga nurareta kabe

= The wall which was just painted.

Ex. マギー先生と呼ばれる

= Maggi sensei to yobareru inu

= A dog called Maggie Sensei.

Ex. 私達はきれいに掃除された部屋で新年を迎えた。

= Watashitachi wa kirei ni souji sareta heya de shinnen wo mukaeta.

= We welcome a new year in a well-cleaned room (←room which was cleaned very well)

Ex. 彼の靴はピカピカに磨かていた。

= Kare no kutsu wa pikapika ni migakarete ita.

= His shoes were polished bright and shiny.

Ex. もっと愛される人になりたい。

= Motto aisareru hito ni naritai.

(= I want to be a person who is loved more.)

= I want to be a more lovable person.

Ex. 私は騙さやすい。

= Watashi wa damasareyasui.

= I am easy to be deceived.

= I am gullible.

★Someone does/did some action on you = Someone did/does something on you = You got something done by someone

*ゆかりがマギーをなぜた。

= Yukari ga Maggie wo nazeta.

= Yukari petted Maggie.

The person who performed the action (petting) is Yukari and I, Maggie, am the receiver of the action.

(passive form)

(私は)ゆかりになぜられた。(showing my happiness or annoyed feeling)

= (Watashi wa) Yukari ni nazerareta.

= I got petted by Yukari.

Ex. 先生に呼ばて職員室に行った。

= Sensei ni yobarete shokuin shitsu ni itta.

= I was called by a teacher and went to the teacher’s room.

Ex. マギーは猫にいじめられました。

= Maggie wa neko ni ijimeraremashita.

= Maggie was bullied by a cat.

Ex. 母に頼またので買い物に行きます。

= Haha ni tanomareta node kaimono ni ikimasu.

= Since I was asked by my mother, I will go shopping now.

 Ex.ゴミを月曜日に出したら、近所の人に注意をさた。

= Gomi wo getsuyoubi ni dashitara, kinjo no hito ni chuui wo sareta.

= I put the trash out on Monday and was cautioned by a neighbor.

(In this particular neighborhood, you are not allowed to put the trash out on Mondays.)

Ex. 上司の家に招待さた。

= Joushi no ie ni shoutai sareta.

= I was invited to my boss’s house.

= (My boss invited me to his house.)

Ex.言わた通りにやればいいんです。

= Iwareta toori ni yareba iindesu.

= Just do what you are told.

 Ex.ツイッターでリムられた。(slang)

= Tuitaa de rimurareta.

= I was removed from the follow list on Twitter.

*Note : リムる ( = rimuru) is a Twitter slang word and it means to remove someone from one’s follow list.

***

Passive form to show your annoyance or disappointment.

When someone’s action affects you in a negative way or causes you some trouble, you use the passive form.

Maggie ate my snack.

*マギーが私のおやつを食べた。

= Maggie ga watashi no oyatsu wo tabeta.

This sentence doesn’t involve any feelings. It is just a statement that Maggie ate my snack.

Using a passive form

*マギーにおやつを食べられた。

= Maggie ni oyatsu wo taberareta.

The direct translation of this sentence is

“I got my snack eaten by Maggie.”

The subject of this sentence is “I” but what was eaten by Maggie was my snack.

Let’s keep going.

Ex. 雨が降った

= Ame ga futta

= It rained.

This sentence doesn’t involve any feelings. It is just a statement of the fact that it rained.

If you were in the rain and the rain troubled you or caused you negative feelings, you use a passive form, られ ( = furareru)

Ex. 雨に降られた。

= Ame ni furareta.

= I got rained on.

**

If your baby cried, you say

赤ちゃんが泣いた。

= Akachan ga naita.

= My baby cried.

In this sentence, there is no emotion. But if you heard your baby crying and you got bothered or felt bad, you would say

赤ちゃんに泣かた。

= Akachan ni nakareta.

= My baby cried (and I am in trouble or I don’t know what to do)

***

*マギーは私の足を踏んだ

= Maggie wa watashi no ashi wo funda.

= Maggie stepped on my foot.

*マギーに足を踏ま

= Maggie ni ashi wo fumareta

= I got my foot stepped on by Maggie.

= Maggie stepped on my foot.

Note: You can omit 私の ( = watashino) my.  But if the subject is not you, you can say:

* 彼はマギーに足を踏また。

= Kare wa Maggie ni ashi wo fumareta.

= He got his foot stepped on by Maggie.

= Maggie stepped on his foot.

A lot of time, if you translate this type of Japanese sentence into English using the same subject and a person who causes the problem, they may not sound natural.

*Subject is/has been/was done something by someone.

Ex. My foot was stepped on by Maggie

It may be more natural to reverse the order.

→ Someone did/does/has done something to you.

Ex. Maggie stepped on my foot.

So I will translate the following sentences in the most natural way.

**

Ex.ずっと 欲しかったドレスを他の人に買わてしまった。

= Zutto hoshikatta doresu wo hoka no hito ni kawarete shimatta.

= Someone bought a dress that I had wanted to buy for a long time.

Ex.幼い頃、父に死なて母と途方に暮れた。

= Osanai koro, chichi ni shinarete haha to tohou ni kureta.

= When I was a little child, I lost my dad, and my mom and I were devastated.

Ex. 彼は妻に先立たた。

= Kare wa tsuma ni sakidatareta.

= His wife died and left him alone.

Ex. こんな遅い時間に来られても困ります。

= Konna osoi jikan ni korarete mo komarimasu.

= It’s inconvenient for me if you visit me this late.

Ex. 友達の家に遊びにいったら、300枚もの旅行の写真を見せられた。

= Tomodachi no ie ni asobini ittara, sanbyakumai mono ryokou no shashin wo miserareta.

= When I went to visit my friend, she showed me a good 300 pictures of her trip. (Implying the feeling of annoyance.)

Ex. 掲示板に悪口を書かた。

= Keijiban ni waruguchi wo kakareta.

= I got badmouthed on the bulletin board.

= Someone badmouthed me on the bulletin board.

Ex.不景気で解雇さ

= Fukeiki de kaiko sareta.

= I got laid off due to the recession.

Ex. 甥にカメラを壊さた。

= Oi ni kamera wo kowasareta.

= My nephew broke my camera. (showing your disappointment.)

***

🐶 From the picture above:

Vinnie 「こんなのつけられた….」

= Konna no tsukerareta…

= I got this thingy put on me…

つける ( = tsukeru) to put on something, to wear something

passive form

つけられる( = tsukerareru) to be put on →Someone forced Vinnie to wear

So we don’t know who put it on Vinnie but by his saying “つけられ = tsukerareta”

********

maggie-senseiマギー先生より = Maggie sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei

Vinnie先生、ありがとう!

= Vinnie sensei, arigatou!

= Thank you, Vinnie Sensei!

このレッスンが多くの人に読まれるといいね。

= Kono ressun ga ooku no hito ni yomareru to iine.

= I hope this lesson is read by many people.

= I hope many people read this lesson.

***

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132 Comments

  1. 彼らに先に注文された。

    Hello Maggie Sensei, just wanted to confirm the above statement. My stab at it: The guys order was taken first. (passive)

    Can I expand it to this, does it have the same meaning/syntax as:

    (unknown waitress or 私?) は 彼らに先に注文された。

    The waitress took the order from them.

    彼ら は (unknown waitress or 私?)  に先に注文した。

    They gave their order to the waitress

    The unknown waitress means it is a hidden person, it does not always mean 私 correct? Unless I am a waiter/waitress then I guess it can apply to 私,. amirite?

    1. Hello Mark,

      (私) は 彼らに先に注文された
      to express the speaker’s annoyed feeling.

      彼ら は (unknown waitress)  に先に注文した。
      or
      If you want to involve the speaker, 私
      you can say
      彼ら は 私より先に注文した。

  2. Hello Maggie Sensei,

    いつでも電話に出られるわけではありません。連絡はメールでお願いします。

    I wanted to confirm the meaning of 電話に出られるわけではありません and expand it out so I know all of the people involved.

    Is these 2 sentences the correct meanings: (and are they the same)

    彼は私に電話に出るわけではありません- My friend does not have to keep calling me.

    私は彼に電話に出られるわけではありません – I am the person who is receiving the call from you, so you do not have to keep doing it.

    Are the 2 sentences above equivalent, same?

    Why do Japanese sentences always leave out the important parts like who is speaking to who, why can’t they put everyone in the sentence so its easier to read and understand?

    Thx in advance

    1. Hi Mark
      Let me correct your sentences/translation.
      彼は私に電話に出るわけではありません
      →彼は私の電話にいつも出るわけではありません

      – My friend does not have to keep calling me.
      →He doesn’t always answer my call.

      私は彼に電話に出られるわけではありません
      →私は彼の電話にいつも出られるわけではありません
      = I can’t always answer his calls.

      いつでも電話に出られるわけではありません。連絡はメールでお願いします。
      You can tell who is talking by the second sentence.連絡はメールでお願いします The speaker is asking the listener.

  3. Hello Maggie Sensei,
    I wanted to confirm if this is the use of Passive for annoyance:
    1. 自分が怒られている様子が目に浮かぶ。
    Does it mean, “The mad feelings that made me annoyed came to my eyes?”
    What do eyes have to do with feeling mad?

    2. この前上司から「余裕を持って来るように」
    Also for this one, does it mean the Boss wants this person to make a SURPLUS of money, the boss is saying please make a lot of surplus money?

    3. 怒られないで済む
    Also does this passive mean I was not mad and it finished? I was not mad anymore?

    Thx in advance

    1. Hi Mark
      1) Yes. It is for annoyance.
      2) I think you missed the verb
      Is it 言われた or 怒られた? 
      言われた I was told (It is simply a passive form) / 怒られた I got scolded. (It is just a passive form but since 怒られる means to get scolded, it implies some negative feelings, fear, annoyance,etc.)
      3) I can get away without been scolded. (check this lesson if you want to learn the usage of 済む)

  4. Hello Sensei,
    I wanted to ask what is the correct sentence:
    a.子供の頃兄によく意地悪をされた
    b. 子供の頃兄によく意地悪をもらった
    The correct answer is a, but why is it a?
    If it is a, then it means that my older brother was a mean person.
    But if you say b, it means that I received the bad treatment, so why isn’t b the correct answer?
    Also for:
    c. 私も海に遊びに行く仲間に入れて欲しかった。
    d. 私も海に遊びに行く仲間に出して欲しかった。
    The入れて is for what part of the sentence? 海に、or 仲間に?
    How can I tell which noun the 入れて would be part of in Japanese sentences?
    I believe the correct answer is c, but why?
    Thx in advance

    1. Hi Mark
      a) and b)
      Have you studied causative/passive causative form?
      So 意地悪をされる is a passive causative

      noun +を + もらう to receive something (意地悪 is something you don’t もらう)
      verb-te form ~て+ もらう to have someone does something for you (usually something favorable)

      Vされる / with suru verb Noun + をされる = passive causative (someone makes you something (unfavorable)/someone does something unpleasant to you

      c) and d)

      仲間に入れる is an idiom = to include /have someone in some group ・to take a person into a group as a member

      1. Hello Maggie sensei,
        here is the complete text:
        First Part:
        He is waiting at a bus stop because he has to go to work, but it really is Sunday, and the bus schedule is for the weekdays. He says if he keeps waiting there, he will be late for work about 2 hours. So it is his fault for thinking he has to go to work.
        このままでは二時間近く遅刻してしまいそうだ。この前上司から「余裕を持って来るように。」と言われたばかりなのに。ちょっとも進歩しない。ああ、自分が怒られている様子が目に浮かぶ。
        I just do not know what 怒られている様子が目に浮かぶ。Did he realize why he is mad/angry with himself?
        Also what does the teacher / boss mean by: 余裕を持って来るように。

        Second Part:
        駅で大事なことに気が付いた。今日は日曜日だったのだ。目覚まし時計が鳴らなかったのも、バスが平日の時刻表どうりに来なかったのも、今日は日曜日だからだったのだ。よかった。怒られないで済む。
        So the last part: 怒られないで済む。In this context does it mean he did not have to get mad/angry with himself?

        Thanks

        1. Yes, so the following verb is 言われた so it shows annoyance. (I was told (something negative))
          怒られている様子が目に浮かぶ。means the speaker can picture himself /herself being scolded by his/her boss.
          余裕をもってくる to be at the office earlier with plenty of time.
          怒られないで済む: I think I already explained but the speaker is glad because he/she found out it was Sunday so he/she can get away from the situation to get scolded by his/her boss/

    1. Hello

      最初の文章を少し変えた方がいいですね。

      子供がボールで遊んでいて〜
      ボールで遊んでいる子供に〜

  5. Hi! Sorry to bother you with this question.
    I don’t understand the structure for 幼い頃、父に死なれて母と途方に暮れた at all.
    Specifically the 父に死なれて part. I feel like it says “I was dead by my father” (but I know it doesn’t.)
    Could you please explain it, thank you!
    Also thank you for all of your lessons <3

    1. Hello Ariana

      OK
      父が死んだ My father died
      When the incident affects the speaker negatively you use the passive form →父に死なれた 

      幼い頃、父が死んだ
      幼い頃、父に死なれた
      The translation is still the same “When I was a child, my father died ” but while 死んだ states just the fact,
      the passive form,死なれた, expresses the speaker’s shocked feelings more.

  6. Hi, Maggie sensei.
    If I want to say: the scolded person, could it be:叱った人 or should be 叱られた人?
    Thank you very much.

  7. Hi Maggie sensei! Thanks for the lesson :) I came here because I had questions from an answer you wrote me and I was hoping I’d find the answer here! I didn’t but I have another question instead if you don’t mind!! 😖
    Passive form means something is being done to the speaker but I also read in your lesson that it can also indicate negative (or happy?) feelings (I never knew!! 😖 )? I will borrow one of your examples : 上司の家に招待された。= I was invited to my boss’ house. If you heard that hoe would you know if the person was happy about it, unhappy about it or just saying they were invited to their boss’ house?
    Thank you so much for your help always and merry christmas!! 😘

    1. Hi Eva,
      上司の家に招待された。
      could be
      1) neutral: just telling the fact that the speaker was invited to her/hi boss’ house.
      (It is what I meant in the example sentence.)

      If the speaker likes the boss
      2) positive (expressing his/her happy feelings)
      If the speaker doesn’t like the boss,
      3) negative (expressing his/her annoyance.)

      You can tell by the context or tone of his/her voice.

      Merry Christmas to you too!! 🎄

      1. I see! Thanks so much for explaining it! Makes perfect sense :))
        Sorry for the super late reply but just wanted to say thanks!
        Also- 明けましておめでとう! <3

  8. Maggie sensei, thank you for your reply.

    I raised this question because I was reading about られる.
    It says there are four usages, 受身形, 可能形, 尊敬語 and 自発.

    Initially, I thought all verbs in 受身形 can also mean 自発. But according to your explanation, it seems that is not the case. Besides 考えられる and 思われる, are there other 自発形 verbs that have the same pattern as 受身形? Is 言われる considered 自発?

    I also always encounter the three verbs above in ている form. What is the difference between 考えられる・思われる・言われる and 考えられている・思われている・言われている?

    In passive, using your example, 私は彼に変な人だと思われた, there is someone, 彼, who does the thinking. In 自発, 今年の冬は厳しいと思われる, who thought that this year is cold? Me or everyone in general?

    How do you determine whether a verb like 思われる in a sentence is 自発形 or 受身形?

    1. Other than 考えられる・思われる, there are not so many but

      偲(しの)ばれる
      思い出される
      案(あん)じられる
      惜(お)しまれる
      are considered to be 自発形

      I think 言われる is categorized into 受身形, passive form. It could show one’s annoyance (1) or to introduce general ideas (2)

      1) Aさんに太っていると言われた
      = I was told by A that I am fat.

      2) 日本人は感情を表にあまり出さないと言われる。
      = People said (It is said) that Japanese people don’t show much emotion.

      考えられる・思われる・言われる
      考えられている・思われている・言われている

      られる to be thought/considered / to be said
      〜ている has been considered / has been said
      Vている = the state in certain period of time.:

      私は彼に変な人だと思われた,
      There are two people in this sentence. the speaker, “I” and the third person, “He”
      The speaker was thought to be a strange person by him.

      今年の冬は厳しいと思われる,
      people in general think this winter will be harsh.
      The speaker is introducing what they heard (general idea/news)

      As for your last question,
      Q:How do you determine whether a verb like 思われる in a sentence is 自発形 or 受身形?

      If the speaker introduce a general idea, 自発

      I wish I could give you the whole explanation here but the comment section is very limited so I will stop right here. 😉

    1. Hi Chang

      Some of 自発形 verbs have the same pattern as 受身形
      Ex. 考えられる・思われる

      〜と考えられる/思われる= It is believed that ~ / It is thought that ~
      〜が思い出される= 〜comes to one’s mind

      You use it when you describe something objectively. When you get the feelings/something happens “naturally” without any control.

      Ex. 私は今年の冬は厳しいと思う。= I think this winter will be severe. (The subject is clear.)
      Ex. 今年の冬は厳しいと思われる。= It is thought that this winter will be severe. (The subject is not clear.)

      You use passive form with 思う
      Ex. 私は彼に変な人だと思われた。
      = I was thought to be a strange person by him.
      (He thought I was a strange person.)

      In this case the subject and object are clear. (He/I)

      Other than the ones with (ら)れる,
      聞こえる
      わかる
      見える
      are also has a meaning of 自発
      You don’t do anything but you hear/understand/see things naturally without any control.

  9. Hi Maggie sensei, thank you very much for the lessons!! May I ask you a question?
    So far, my understanding is that, using the passive form, sometimes imply negative feeling (e.g. 甥にカメラを壊された。), and sometimes not (e.g. 上司の家に招待された。). My question is, when someone uses passive form in a blurred situation, how do we know whether he/she has bad feeling? For example, if someone says “本を友達に借られました。”(my booked was borrowed by a friend.). How do i know whether she has bad feeling lending a book to a friend? She might not like it, but doesn’t know how to reject. Or, she might be very willing to do so. How do I know/guess?

    Thanks!!

    1. Hi Kahloon,

      It’s all depends on the context. Either way, I wouldn’t say 本を友達に借りられました for your own book because you control your books to lend but if you are talking about the library book,
      誰かに読みたかった本を借りられました。
      it shows annoyance. You wanted to borrow a book but someone else took it.

  10. Maggie sensei,

    Thanks for the lesson.
    Actually, you teach the rule for forming passive voice by changing the Verb to ない then add れ, is much much much easier to remember than the other rules.

    For your reference, I had learnt the rule of forming passive voice which was so complicated to remember like below

    Group 1: like いきます。
    – Look at き, the sound is “k”. Passive voice is use the “k” sound plus “a” -> か。Finally, the passive is 行かれる。

    Like 飲みます。
    Look at ’み”。The sound is “m”. Passive voice is using the “m” sound _ “a”,
    Finally passive voice is 飲まれます。

    Too headache with this rule.

  11. Hi Maggie!
    I’m just wondering about the difference between 受身+たい VS ~てほしい.
    EX) 『おはようのちゅーは?』って言われたい VS 『おはようのちゅーは?』って言ってほしい.
    The second one sounds more soften than the first one, I think and the translation in English seems to be the same (“I want you to say”), hmmm…

    1. Hi 天人! 今日も元気?
      I agree. The second one sounds softer because it is focusing on yourself.

      ~言われたい I want to be said (stronger)
      ~言ってほしい I want you/him/her to tell me (focusing on you/the third person him/her)

      1. 平気やでッ~~!
        Thank you for your help, Maggie. Just a small additional question.
        It is natural in 日本語 to use ~言われたい during a conversation towards your 話の相手(例えば「ご主人さまと言われたい!」とかと言いたい時に^^)? Because in English if I used “I want to be said” then this would sound ちっと変.
        つまり、受身の希望形・願望形はどんな時に使うのん?

        1. Hi 天人
          Yes, I assume you use passive form in Japanese much more than English.
          言われたい is fine but in that case
          ご主人様と呼ばれたい might be better.

          I will show you other examples with 受身の希望形・願望形
          Ex. かわいいねって言われたい
          Ex. そんな風に言われたくない。
          Ex. 先生に褒められたい。

          (Note for you: 平気→元気* If you are not sure I will explain later.)

          1. Thank you very much again!
            And thank you for the 平気=>元気 correction!

            (Although it means “all right; fine; OK; okay” according to kotobank.jp this belongs to the follow context: いつもと気持ちや態度が変わらないこと。また、そのさま/気にかけないこと/心配しなくともよいこと/落ち着いていること。また、そのさま/平静 – so generally mental calmness/peace, indeed. I thought that colloquially you can also use it instead of 元気)

          2. No problem.
            Right. 平気 has various functions but for example, if something happens to you and someone worries about you, you could say 平気だよ。(I’m fine. / I can deal with that.)

  12. Dear Maggie Sensei!
    I’m a little confused about the particle を when using the passive form.
    For example, in the sentence you provided
    「ずっと 欲しかったドレスを他の人に買われてしまった。」
    Why is the particle used を and not は? Is it because the dress is something *I* wanted and not a random statement?
    Also, I learnt that
    私は人にXをされました
    And in this case X is something I own or something related to me, and someone is doing something to my X(foot, etc). However in some cases I read the X belongs to the person doing the passive statement, like a statement i read beforehand 「ユニフォームは手を突っ込まれやすい」in this case the hand belongs to the other party.
    Is there any way to understand it better?
    Thank you very much!

    1. Hi Megan,

      私はドレスを買う
      他の人がそのドレスを買う
      You use を as an object marker.
      The same rule works for the passive form.

      他の人に(買おうと思っていた)ドレスを買われる
      ずっと 欲しかったドレスを他の人に買われてしまった。

      It is possible to use “は” when you show the contrast or emphasize the particular dress.

      ずっと 欲しかったドレスは、他の人に買われてしまった implies,
      Someone bought the particular dress that I wanted but other dresses are available/I bought other dresses.

      **

      「ユニフォームは手を突っ込まれやすい」
      →It may be easier to think ユニフォームに手を突っ込まれやすい

      Let me change the example a little.

      ポケットに手を突っ込む
      to stick/thrust one’s hand into one’s pocket.

      passive form
      ポケットに手を突っ込まれる

      + やすい
      ポケットに手を突っ込みやすい

      + やすい (passive form)
      ポケットに手を突っ込まれやすい

      So 手 is an object of one’s action, sticking/thrusting, so you use を.
      If it is a passive form, 手 is other people’s hand but it is still an object of an action so you use を

      1. Thank you very much for your response! I now understand the explanation for the dress part, but I’m still unclear about the second part.
        I do understand the X は passive + やすい but I’m not sure about the を in the use of passive sentences, as in does the word before を belong to the subject or the person performing the action, or does it depend on the context?
        I’m sorry for disturbing you so much, and thank you for your explanation!

      2. Sensei could you please elaborate on the usage of をand the がparticles in passive grammar. It is a bit troublesome to distinguish the usages.
        Plz help!

        1. Hi Samayra

          OK, for example
          When you compare the following two sentences,

          財布をとられた →(私は)財布を取られた →I had my wallet stolen.  You are talking about what happened to 私
          財布がとられた→ My wallet was stolen You are talking about what happened to 財布

  13. Hi Maggie,

    We never really covered passive or causative verb forms in Japanese at school, so causative is next on my to do list!
    But I got myself in a muddle because I vaguely remember studying transitive and intransitive verbs, and my understanding was:
    Transitive – someone actively does something to an object (I/he/she closes the door, ドアを閉める)
    Intransitive – the action happens, there isn’t a direct object (the door closes, ドアが閉まる).

    Any magic tips on learning all the intransitive verbs would be appreciated! :P

    Ukemi passive form at least has much easier rules on how to form it, but the use of it sounded a bit like intransitive verbs to me, and I’ve been struggling to see the difference in when you use each of them. Obviously my English grammar isn’t good enough :'( I think I’m getting there, though.

    I’ve read online that passive is used when there’s clearly an active agent causing the action (even if the agent isn’t explicitly stated). Intransitive doesn’t show that information
    e.g. passive ドアが閉められる – the door is closed (was done by someone)
    intransitive ドアが閉まる could mean it happened by itself.

    or passive – the trees were moved by the breeze
    intransitive – the trees were moving in the breeze (could mean it wasn’t the breeze that made them move in the first place)

    Another example I saw was
    e.g. passive 教えられた gives a sense that someone is actively teaching,
    intransitive 教わった would be more used if you learned something from TV or a book.

    One thing I have picked up is that English passive is made by a form of ‘to be’ and then the past tense of the verb.

    Anyway I had a couple of notes on your actual lesson, sensei!

    * One is, is よぶ = to call/to invite a ‘group 2’ verb, because it looks like it conjugates the same as ‘group 1’, but you have listed it as group 2?

    * The other is, is it necessary to change group 2 verbs to their negative form? Because it seems like you are adding ‘nai’ just to take it straight back off again. But I don’t know if you just said that because it’s easier to give the same rule for both groups of verbs.

    Sorry for the very long message, my brain hurts now :)

    1. Hi Cindy

      I think I released some mini list of transitive/ intransitive verbs or quiz on Twitter/ Facebook / Patreon but not here yet. But I have a lesson on 開く/開ける, etc.
      http://142.93.68.150/2012/01/31/%E3%81%8A%E9%96%8B%E3%81%8D-ohiraki-%E9%96%8B%E3%81%8F%EF%BC%9D%E3%81%B2%E3%82%89%E3%81%8F%E3%81%82%E3%81%8F-etc/

      Your interpretation of all the example sentences in the comment is right.
      Using passive form sometimes involves the speaker’s feelings as well.
      閉められた could be just describing how the door is closed or the speaker shows some emotions such as annoyance.

      Thanks for the notes. I will take a look at them when I have more time. :)

  14. Maggie Sensei, Konnichiwa, shitsumon ga arundesu ga ii desu ka.
    自分の考えで この パターン は (N は、~に、~を、PV )わるい場合で
    使うんです。例えば、 私は弟にカメラをこわされました。I had my camera broken by my brother. いいことだったら、例えば my camera was repaired by my brother. 私は弟にカメラを なおされました。この ぶん は だめ ですね。
    ”~してもらいます”のほうがいいです。->私は弟にカメラをなおしてもらいました。

    どうしてこちらの例文は OKですか。”わたしは先生に漢字をなおされました。”
    my kanji was corrected by the teacher. でも こちら の 例文 は だめだといいます。 my camera was repaired by my brother—私は弟にカメラを なおされました。

    本当にすみませんがよろしくお願いします 先生。

    ありがとうございます

    1. こんにちは、shin no ai!

      First let’s take a look at the meaning of 直す 
      1) カメラを直す to fix
      2) 漢字を直す to correct kanji

      When someone fix your camera, you usually appreciate that person so you don’t use a passive causative form.
      As you say 直してもらう Someone fixes your camera for your favor.

      Now as for 2) is tricky.
      If you feel grateful for the teacher who correct your kanji mistake, you can also say
      先生に漢字を直してもらった。
      But if you feel disappointed, annoyed or any kind of negative feelings, you say
      わたしは先生に漢字をなおされました。

      1. Maggie 先生、解答してくださってありがとうございます。
        でも、また 質問があります。
        こちらのぶんは いいことですから、嫌な気持ちを表していません。 
        でも 受け身形を使っています。。こちらの されたもの は さくぶん です。

        私は先生に *作文を* ほめられました。

        それで この パターン は 悪いことだけ使わなくても いいことも使えるんですか。

        いつも お世話になっております。

        ありがとうございます。

        1. 受け身は迷惑な気持ちや嫌なことだけではなくいいこと、またはneutralなことにも使われます。
          褒められる/愛される →いいこと
          呼ばれる to be called/知られる →neutral 

          それぞれの動詞で判断するといいかと思います。

          1. ありがとう ございます Maggie 先生 だんだん わかるようになりました

      1. Like we usually say,
        昔の人々にこのような家を作られている。
        昔の人々にこのような家が作られている。

        Which one is correct?
        As the house marks an object , as taught by you earlier we could use the をparticle with the objects in the passive too. But why I got my sentence corrected by saying がis appropriate here?

        Plz help sensei!

        1. Hi I just answered to your previous question.

          Actually two of your sentences are not natural so let me change them a little.

          1) 昔の人々によってこのような家を建てられた。 ❎
          2) 昔の人々によってこのような家が建てられた。 ◯

          You say 2) but not 1) because it is talking about the houses.
          If you use を, the action of building the houses somehow affected to someone.
          So it may work in the situation like there are many strange looking houses in one village and people who live there are complaining about the houses.
          Then they say We got theses houses built by people who used to live here long time ago (and it is very annoying.)

          1. Hi Maggie-san

            I did not ask the original question but I have the same question.
            Can I confirm that we can use が or を to mark the object in passive sentences?
            And if we use を it implies some negative nuance?

            ケーキが食べられた (it is a neutral sentence)
            ケーキを食べられた (it implies someone is unhappy because the cake was eaten)

            Spencer

          2. Hello Spencer,

            Yes, you can say both
            ケーキが食べられた
            ケーキを食べられた

            When you focus on the fact that the cake is gone, you use が. It could be your cake or someone’s cake.
            You use を when someone ate your cake.

            They both could be negative but が expresses one’s shock /surprised feelings and you are right を implies you are not happy because the cake belonged to you.

  15. Hi Maggie-sensei, I have a question with regards to ukemi. I came across this sentence.
    私は時々「水」の代わりに「冷や」という言葉を使いますが、頼んだ人は私が日本語を話していることに気づかず、水をもらえません。Why is 頼んだ and not 頼まれた? Is this due to viewpoint? I mean if I am at the scene, from my viewpoint, shouldn’t the writer who places order be 頼んだ人 and the waiter who takes order be 頼まれた人?

    1. Hello!
      Yes, the person who ordered water is 私 so you have to describe it from the speaker’s point of view and it is strange to to see the waiter’s point of view.
      (私が)水を頼んだ人
      = The person I ordered water.

      1. If from the speaker’s point of view, the waiter is 頼んだ人, then is there a 頼まれた人 from speaker’s point of view?

        1. You use 頼まれた人 for the third person.
          If you use 私 as a subject, it will be strange to say (私に)頼まれた人 in that sentence.

          1. I think I got it. I try to summarize below.

            Customer ordered water to waiter.
            From customer point of view, waiter is 頼んだ人.
            From waiter point of view, customer is 頼まれた人.
            From my point of view as a 3rd party, customer is 頼んだ人 and waiter is 頼まれた人

            Is my understanding correct?

          2. Just
            From waiter point of view, customer is 頼まれた人.
            It depends on the particle.

            私(waiter)が注文(order)を頼まれた人 = The customer who I got the order from (from a waiter’s point of view)
            他のお客さん(other customer)に注文(order)を頼まれた人 = the waiter who got the order from other customer (from the speaker, the third person’s point of view)

  16. Hello Maggie 先生!
    I’ve read through your lesson and your additional explanation in the comments. However I still cannot understand the usage of the particle に in the following sentence (the first に) : 20歳未満の人に禁止されているものも自由に買えるのが不思議だと外国人はよく言う。

    Could you please explain? Thanks!

    1. こんにちは、Yan

      に is either an indirect object marker or “by”. In this case an indirect marker.

      someoneに(direct object) を、禁止する
      someoneに(direct object) が、禁止されている

      Something (direct object)は20歳未満の人(indirect object)に禁止されている

      → 20歳未満の人(indirect object)に禁止されている+もの

      1. hokano okyakusan ‘kara’ gochumon wo tanomareta hito

        The sentence itself is a bit unnatural but you can use “kara” instead of “ni.

        I took an order from a customer.
        お客さんに注文を受けた。= Okyakusan ni chuumon wo uketa.
        お客さんから注文を受けた。 = Okyakusan kara chuumon wo uketa.

  17. Kouike sensei americano gakkai n ikareru younara watashi mo tsurete itte moraemasen ka?

    Can you explain why its passive?
    いつも、助けてくれてありがとうございます!

    1. @Rodney

      Konnichiwa, Rodney
      That is an honorific expression.
      The passive form and honorific form such as ~reru, rareru are the same so you have to interpret by the context.

        1. You’re very welcome!
          (a little note for you: あなたがいなくて、何も分かれないだろうね。→I think what you meant is あなたがいないと何も分からないだろうね)

          1. Put wakarenai cuz i wouldnt be able too understand fukanou desu.
            I guess thats wrong though?

            Thank you for the correction :)

          2. Good mistake! the verb わかる( = wakaru) already has a potential meaning so you don’t need to change it with “れる(reru)”

  18. Maggie sensei, can Isay like this :
    kyou wa saigo no kurasu kara, watashitachi ni shashin o torarete kurete, mina wa kitekudasai.
    pls reply,tks

    1. @husni chen

      What do you want to say in English? It’s our last class so we are going to take a picture together? Then you don’t need to use a passive form.

      Kyou wa saigo no kurasu nanode, minna de shashin wo issho ni torimasu. (or torimashou) Zehi kite kudasai.

  19. Hi Maggie, Please correct me if I misunderstood

    (私は)猫に死なれた – I got died by a cat/ I was died by a cat
    (私は)雨に降られた – I got rained by the rain
    (私は)赤ちゃんに泣かれた the baby cried (and let me nervous) / I got cried by the baby.

    1. @Lucas
      If you translated them in English, they don’t sound natural but I think you got the idea.
      猫に死なれた= My cat died (and I am very sad/ It was a painful)
      雨に振られた= I got rained on.
      赤ちゃんに泣かれた= The baby cried and that makes me nervous/ I was/am in a trouble.

  20. Hi Maggie sensei I’ve just started studying for the N3 test using the So-matome books and already hit a roadblock on the first grammar point. I hope you can help.

    So I think understand the basics of the られる form, but what the textbook is trying to teaching me is confusing me. The explanation they use for the られる form says “When you mention a fact without a subject, the passive form is often used” 「主語を表さないで事実を述べるとき、よく受身形を使う」. Here are a few examples.

    本には、くわしい説明は書かれていません。
    There is no detailed explanation in this book.

    入学しは、このホールて行われます。
    The entrance ceremony will take place in this hall.

    これは、世界で一番大きいダイヤモンドだと言われています。
    This is said to be the biggest diamond in the world.

    昔は、その考えが正しいと思われていた。
    The idea used to be considered correct.

    Is this a different grammar point using られる or am i just not fully understanding the the られる form?

    1. Hello Colette,
      in this case it’s just like in English.
      The passive form is very often used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action. Also a statement in passive – as you already know – sounds more polite and formal.

      ( `・∀・´)ノヨロシク

  21. Hello Maggie-sensei!
    I am really confused about particles.
    1. Is there any difference in unsing “に” and “によって”?
    2. At the very beginning I was tought that the particle “を” becomes “が”,
    e.g. お寺を建てた  !to right!  お寺が建てられた
    But in your sentence it doesn’t happen:
    ゴミを月曜日に出したら、近所の人に注意をされた。
    Is it so because bad (or in some cases good) feelings are connected with that situation? For example like here: 私は先生に作文をほめられてうれしかったです and 大切な洋服を弟に汚されてしまいました (additionally emphasized by しまう?). And also like here, when someone is negatively affected by an action: となりの人にたばこを吸われて、気分が悪くなりました.
    But even if I am right, I don’t understand why in one book is that sentence wrong: 私の背中は後ろの人に押されました。 Would it be correct with を insteas of は? 私の背中を後ろの人に押されました。
    3. You wrote: マギーは猫steじめられました
    Is it the same to use は instead of が or are there any particular situation where we cannot change it?
    4. The last one, I don’t understand that sentence: かわいがっていた猫に死なれて、とてもさびしかった。

    I know it’s a lot of questions but I hope you will help me :-D
    Thanks!

    1. @Patrik

      hello Patryk

      1. *When a building/work, artwork is done by someone, (a new thing which didn’t exist/ not known before was made/found by someone) you use によって

      Ex. この建物はYによって建てられた (Xに建てられた)
      This building was built by Y

      この本はYによって書かかれた(xに書かれた)
      This book was written by ~

      Ex. アメリカ大陸はコロンブスによって発見された。
      = America was discovered by Columbus.

      2. As for the particle, here are the basic patterns of the passive form.

      (1) (subjectは/が)〜に(によって/から) 〜(ら)れた

      お寺を建てた
      →お寺が建てられた

      みんなが私を笑った
      →(私は)みんなに笑われた

      先生は私を褒めた
      →(私は)先生に褒められた

      近所の人が私を注意した
      →(私は)近所の人に注意された

      猫がマギーをいじめた
      →マギーは猫にいじめられた

      (2) (subjectは/が)〜に〜を〜られた
      the action is done on the object

      先生は、私の作文を褒めた
      →私は、先生に作文を褒められた 

      Q: 私の背中は後ろの人に押されました。

      →(more natural) 私は背中を後ろの人に押されました。

      4. When some misfortune thing happens you use a passive form to show you are a sort of victim of the incident.

      (私は)猫に死なれた
      (私は)雨に降られた

  22. Hey Maggie/Yukari,

    I am currently self-studying for JLPT N2 and would just like to say your website has helped a great deal in helping me refresh concepts! Really appreciate it (:

    Thank You

    1. @Kai

      Hi Kai, Thank you for your comment.
      I am very happy to hear our site is helping your study!
      2級がんばってね!:)

  23. You really reply to everyone ! We’re so lucky to have you.

    I’ll take a look at that lesson ! Thank you very much

  24. Thank you for your lessons. You really should consider to make a series of books to learn Japanese. Congratulations!

    Just one question: do you have any lesson using “shimau” (at the end of the sentences) ?

    Best!

  25. Maggie先生、質問がありますけど。「学生は学校に通う」から「school is attended by students」の文を作りたいですが、インターネットで「通われる」と書いたら「学校に通われる学生」という文がでてきます。この文は「students attendend by school」って意味ではありませんね。じゃ、どんな意味ですか?「学校は学生に通われる」の文は正解ではないですか?

    1. @Alekandra

      First, the passive form for 学生は学校に通う is not natural.
      But if you really want to make a passive form, for example,
      Many students go to this school.
      passive tense
      →This school is attended by many students.
      この学校は多くの生徒に通われています。
      But I would stick to
      多くの生徒がこの学校に通っています。form.

      1. Ok, thank You! In my language (Polish) it sounds more natural, thats why that weird form !ase!  !ase! 

  26. Hi.
    Thanks for the lesson.

    However, I have been struggling with this which has made me a bit discouraged about still learning Japanese beacause I have found no one who could answer my question.

    My problem is particle に in the passive voice. に is used to express the agent in the passive voice, the origin of the action, the performer, right?, however, this contrasts with its directional meaning (to/towards/for) and this, let’s call it, contradiction in meaning makes understanding particle に very difficult for me in the passive voice.

    Why is a particle that indicates direction or target such as に used to indicate the origin of an action (the agent) in the passive voice? It makes no sense in my head because the performer (agent) is not supposed to be the target of the action but the one that performs the action, the origin.

    I don’t know if I have exposed my problem clearly, but I hope you can help me solve this puzzle.

    Thanks!

    1. @Mew34

      Hello Mew34!
      My advice for you is not to stick to one function of に.

      Japanese particles have many functions.
      The functions of に is not just “direction”
      For example…

      1) direction (towards)
      Ex. 東京に*行く = Toukyou ni iku. = to go to Tokyo

      2) indirect object

      Ex. 友達に*会う= Tomodachi ni au. = to see one’s friend

      3) location (in) existence

      Ex. 東京に*住んでいる。= Toukyou ni sunde iru. = to live in Tokyo

      4) purpose

      Ex. 本を買いに* でかける= Hon wo kai ni* dekakeru. = to go out to buy a book.

      5) time marker

      Ex. 11時に寝る。= Juuichiji ni neru = to go to bed at 11:00.
      Ex. 9月30日に試験がある。= Kugatsu sanjuunichi ni shiken ga aru. = there is an exam on Sep.30th

      6) per

      Ex. 1日に3回、薬を飲む= Ichinichi ni sankai kusuri wo nomu. = to take a medicine three times a day.

      7) by , from

      This is what you use to make a passive and causative form.
      に has a function of “by” (some action was caused by ~~~)

      弟が私のおやつを取った。
      = Otouto ga watashi no oyatsu wo totta.
      = My younger brother took my snack.

      When you make this sentence into a passive form,

      My snack was taken by my younger brother.

      As に has a function of “by” (source), you say
      私はおやつを弟に取られた
      =Watashi wa oyatsu wo otouto ni torareta

      or
      私は弟におやつを取られた。
      =Watashi wa otouto ni oyatsu wo torareta.

  27. ごめんください。

    You translate
    My boss invited me to his house
    by
    上司の家に招待された。

    Usually, you are honoured to have been invited. So I thought the following translation should be used :
    上司の家にご招待してもらいました。(or 上司の家にご招待していただきました。)

    Can you please explain us, for this example, the difference between the ukemi form and the てもらう form.

    よろしくお願いします。

    1. @hugo

      Hi Hugo,
      Here is the thing. When you are talking to the boss or someone related to the boss and talk about when your boss invited you to his house, you have to use the honorific expression.
      *Expressing your gratitude towards your boss,
      Ex. 本日は、ご招待を頂き有り難うございました。
      Ex. 本日は、お招き頂き有り難うございます。
      *Talking about the time when your boss invited you to someone superior or related to the boss.
      Ex.先日、〜課長(部長)ご招待頂きご自宅にお邪魔しました。etc.

      However, if you are simply talking about factual thing, you don’t need to use polite form.

  28. こんにちは!お元気ですか。受け身の文法は便利で大切ですよ。だからこのレッスンを教えてくれてありがとう!
    ちなみに、最後の用法が分からなかったから知ってビックリしました。
    ここで日本語を書いてもいいですか。
    で、昨日はとても面白い記事を読んだ。あの記事は人の歩き方を調べて犯人を見つかる技術にとって書かれます。楽しいですね。私はあの技術に調べられるのは是非欲しいです。
    あの記事のおかげでたくさん新しい言葉を習いました。
    そうです。いつも色々な事を言いたいけど難しいです。まず英語で文章を作って日本語に訳すけどよく書き直します。
    韓国語の勉強を話したいです。これは酷いです。韓国語は日本語よりすごく難しくて特に発音です。全然分かりません。

    1. @ocd

      こんにちは!ocd!
      返事が遅れてごめんなさい。今、旅行中でWiFiがつながりません。
      今日は長い日本語の文章、よく書けていますよ。U^ェ^U
      直すところあまりないですが、ちょっと気になるところだけお手伝いしますね。(→犯人を見つける技術について書かれていました。/→not sure but you meanあの技術について是非調べてみたいです。?)後半は本当によく書けています。
      韓国語も難しそうですが、日本語みたいにきっと上達も早いと思います。がんばってくださいね。

      1. こんにちは!わあぁ、そんな早い返事をすると期待しなかったよ。今度は私がごめんねと言う番ね。ごめんなさい、返事が遅れて。
        旅行はどうだった?
        そんないい言葉はありがとう。マギー先生はすごく優しいなぁ。
        あの文章は「I would like to be examined by that technique」と言いたかった。

        1. @ocd

          旅行はとっても楽しかったですよ。
          「I would like to be examined by that technique」ですね。だったらそのテクニック(技術)で調べられてみたいです。
          ではどうでしょう?

  29. このレッスンを教えてくれてありがとうー、マギー先生!先に、受身は難しかったが、このレッスンので、分かれるようになった。 

    ちょっと間違った文を探した :

    “Ex.幼い頃、父に死なれて母と途方に暮れた。

    = When I was a little child, my mom and I were devastated.” 

    (父に死なれて is missing in the English translation)

    ありがとう!次のレッスンが楽しみだ。

    1. @Sophie

      こんにちは、Sophie! 本当ですね、父に死なれての英語が抜けていましたね。直しました。教えてくれてありがとう! :)

      (お礼にSophieの日本語を少しお手伝いしますね。
      このレッスンので→このレッスンで/ わかれるようになりました→わかるようになりました/探した→見つけた・見つけました。)

  30. (Hm, seems like the previous comment didn’t get transmitted properly. Re-sending.)

    このレッスンをありがとうございました!!

    私にとって、これは大切なレッスンなんです!!

    I’m on an intensive Japanese language course now and was just introduced to “transitive verbs” and “intransitive verbs” yesterday. The learning progress had been smooth sailing until this point and I was a bit stumped by yesterday’s class. But as is always, when in doubt, refer to MaggieSensei.com ;)

    The way you explained it was very intuitive and logical. It makes sense now :) Only managed to read half of the lesson right now but will finish this for sure.

    本当にありがとうございました! 助かりました!

    1. @Jane

      Hello Jane!
      コメント、うれしく読みました。
      Ohh transitive verbs and intransitive verbs are difficult, huh?
      But hope you enjoy learning Japanese in your intensive course.
      You are always welcome to practice Japanese in this comment sections. I will check your sentences.
      がんばって!

      1. Thank you in advance for offering to help! I will definitely take up on your offer and be more active in the comments section. それでは、 いい週末を!

  31. こんばんは、マギー先生! Thank you for this lesson, it was very useful! ありがとうございます!!
    I would like to ask a question. A Japanese boy asked that—-> ハンガリーの方……日本在住ですか?
    It’s not clear for me, I’m a beginner. T_T and I don’t know how should I answer.
    Could you please help me? Thank you for your help in advance.

    1. @Fando

      こんにちは、Fando!
      ハンガリーの方ですか? (Hangarii no kata desu ka) means “Are you Hungarian?”
      (方 is more polite than 人)
      If you are, you can say
      はい、そうです。(=Hai soudesu) Yes, I am.
      If you are not,
      いいえ、ちがいます。(=Iie chigaimasu.) No I am not.
      If you want to tell that person what your nationality is,
      いいえ、〜〜人です。
      Ex. いいえ、ルーマニア人です。
      = Iie, Ruumania jin desu.
      = No, I am Romanian.
      日本在住ですか?= Is a formal way to say “日本に住んでいますか?= Nihon ni sunde imasu ka” It means “Do you live in Japan?”

      If you do,
      はい、日本に住んでいます。
      = Hai, nihon ni sunde imasu.
      If you don’t

      いいえ、〜〜に住んでいます。
      = Iie, ~~~ ni sunde imasu.
      = No, I live in ~~

    1. This is the conversation:
      A: 私はあなたを愛し、私は不注意な男です。時々私は結果を考えずに物事を行います。私はちょうど恐れてあなたを失います..
      B: そんなもんです
      I cannot understand what the B mean by that. Thank You

        1. Oh is it?
          I don’t notice it because i still can’t read japanese languange correctly
          i just used google translate to read that, and i find difficulties knowing the B mean
          Thank You BTW for giving me the information
          So from the context, what is B thinking by “That’s the way it goes.”

          1. From my translation, A is loving B and don’t want to lose B, but he seems to be reckless person. is that correct?

          2. @Human

            Your translation is more or less correct. Except the part “I do things without thinking well”
            Yes, that sentence sounds like someone tried to translate it with Google translation or something.

  32. Hello! Thanks for this lesson, it’s very helpful. I only have one question to make about this, more like a confirmation.

    Sometimes I get confused about which verb form I should use, so let me see if I understand it now.

    For verbs of the same group as 食べる, I will use the masu form and add the られる?

    and for verbs from the other group, like 聞く, I will use the nai form and add れる?

    Also, thank you for linking to the lesson about saseru and saserareru, I have a lot of trouble with that too, hahaha.

  33. Ex.幼い頃、父に死なれて母と途方に暮れた。

    = Osanai koro, chichi ni shinarete :rrrr: [haha to] tohou ni kureta.

    = When I was a little child, my mom and I were devastated.
    arigatou

          1. I replied in the wrong comment! hahaha, my last reply was meant to the information you added in the lesson.

  34. マギー先生、 ありがとうございます!先学期に私の大学で日本語202をとったのに、受身がまだ本当に分かりにくいです。
    でも、毎日サイトを見て新しい文法とか単語を習います。マギー先生は一番好きな先生です!

    新しいレッスンを読むの楽しみにしています!

    1. @Robert
      こんにちは、Robert!
      毎日、サイトに来てくれていると聞いて本当にうれしいです!ありがとう!
      受身にはみんな苦労しているみたいですね。いつでもここで練習してくださいね。 :)

      1. @reid

        Relatively when you make something big or industrial you use 造
        Ex. 船/ships, 国/country 庭/yard or something special such as 酒, Japanese sake,

  35. マギー先生!久しぶりだね!お元気ですか?何かあった?「かんぺきな計算で作られた楽園でひとつだけうそじゃない愛してる。」 I would translate it in which way? “In a paradise made by perfect calculation, the only thing that isn’t a lie is love.” or “In a paradise of perfect calculation has been made, the only thing that is true is love.” I think that the first way sounds more natural. どう思う? ありがとう ございます!

    1. @Courtney
      こんにちは、Courtney!久しぶり!元気でしたか?

      Perfumeの歌で勉強しているの?
      Lyrics are hard to interpret but this is what I think…

      Maybe you should separate it into two
      1) かんぺきな計算で作られた楽園でひとつだけうそじゃない
      2) 愛してる

      1) かんぺきな計算で造られた楽園
      OK, here you see a passive form 造られた which modifies 楽園
      The paradise (which is) made with perfect calculation.

      Now you see the whole sentence
      (かんぺきな計算で作られた)楽園でひとつだけうそじゃない
      で here is a location marker.
      There is one thing which is not false (in the paradise (which is)made…..)

      and continue, rephrasing what is not false…the feeling of love

      2) 愛している
      “I love you”

      1. あ!先生!ありがとうございました! 今、わかっている!Perfumeの大ファンだよ!あなたのレッスンをいつみた、コンピュータシティどう思った。(笑)

        1. @Courtney

          Perfumeかわいいですね。

          (今、わかっている→今、わかりました/やっとわかりました。/これでわかりました
          あなたのレッスンをいつみた What did you want to say? )

          1. Oh no! I messed up! I’m sorry :( I meant to say, “When I saw your lesson…”

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