Grammar › Passive & Causative
られる/れる — the passive voice
“Something was done (to me)” — turns the object of an action into the subject
The passive attaches られる to ru-verb stems and れる to u-verb 'a'-stems, turning the receiver of an action into the grammatical subject. Beyond a plain “X was done,” Japanese passive often adds a sense of being affected — especially the adversity passive, where something happens to the speaker's detriment, even with verbs that have no direct passive in English (雨に降られた — “I got rained on”).
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Ru-verb: stem + られる | 見る→見られる — to be seen |
| U-verb: a-stem + れる | 読む→読まれる — to be read |
| Adversity passive | 雨に降られました — I got rained on (inconveniently) |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| このお寺は何百年も前に建てられました。 | このおてらはなんびゃくねんもまえにたてられました。 konooterahananbyakunenmomaenitateraremashita。 | This temple was built hundreds of years ago. |
| 電車で足を踏まれました。 | でんしゃであしをふまれました。 denshadeashiwofumaremashita。 | My foot got stepped on on the train. |
| 子供の時、よく兄にお菓子を食べられました。 | こどものとき、よくあににおかしをたべられました。 kodomonotoki、yokuaniniokashiwotaberaremashita。 | When I was a kid, my brother often ate my snacks on me. |
🔊 Tap any Japanese sentence to hear it; kanji link to their study pages.
Watch out
Don't reach for the passive just because English uses one — 日本語が話されています (Japanese is spoken) sounds like a textbook, not natural speech, next to 日本語を話します. Passive is most natural for the “unnamed builder/creator” case and the adversity meaning.