passive N4 essential casualpolitewritten
〜られる — passive られる: the subject is acted upon
〜られる ・ られる
Meaning
- be ~ed — the passive: the grammatical subject undergoes the action rather than performing it
Key sentence
先生にほめられた。
I was praised by the teacher.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ichidan verb (る-verb) | stem + られる | 食べる → 食べられる |
| Irregular verbs | 来る → 来られる; する → される | 来る → 来られる |
| Agent | agent + に | 犬に + 噛まれる |
Examples
このビルは百年前に建てられた。
This building was built a hundred years ago.
母に日記を見られた。
My mother read my diary (much to my annoyance).
彼はみんなに信じられている。
He is trusted by everyone.
When you can't use it
- The 'suffering passive' (迷惑の受身) lets even intransitive verbs go passive to show the subject was adversely affected: 雨に降られた = 'I got rained on.'
Easily confused with
れる Godan (consonant-stem) verbs take れる, ichidan verbs take られる. Same passive function: 読む → 読まれる, 食べる → 食べられる. honorific/spontaneous られる The identical shape られる is also honorific and potential. 食べられる can mean 'is eaten' (passive), 'can eat' (potential), or '(an honored person) eats' — context decides. させる (causative) させる = make/let someone act; られる = the subject is acted upon. The two combine into the causative-passive させられる ('be made to do').
See 〜られる in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜られる the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.