The causative-passive, or 使役受身[shieki ukemi] in Japanese, expresses how someone is made or forced to do something by someone else. The basic concept is quite simple: make a causative sentence :
Causative sentence (X makes Y do something) | Causative passive (Y is made to do something by X) |
|---|---|
My mom made me eat spinach. | I was made to eat spinach by my mom. |
However, there are some situations that you can describe using a causative sentence, but not a causative passive, and some cases where the causative passive might sound better than the causative on its own.
In this post, we’ll start with a quick review of how to form and use causative sentences and passive sentences in Japanese, then we’ll go over how to combine them into the causative passive. We’ll discuss how to form causative-passive verbs, how to use them in a sentence, and when you should use the causative-passive in the first place.
Ready to have a look? Let’s dive in!
Before discussing what the causative-passive is, let’s quickly review what causative and passive sentences are, on their own.
In Japanese, a causative sentence describes a situation in which one noun (the “causer”) makes or lets another noun (the “actor”) do something.
A causer makes/lets an actor do some action
The causer might be forcing someone to do something, but could also just be letting it happen. What’s essential is that the causer has authority or control over whether or not the actor can act.
In a Japanese causative sentence, the causer is the , marked by は[wa] or が[ga], while the actor is marked by either を[o] or に[ni]. The verb will also have a special causative form.
母親は 子供たちに家事を 手伝わせた。
Hahaoya wa kodomotachi ni kaji o tetsudawaseta.
The mother made her children help with the chores.
The plain forms of causative verbs mostly end with せる[aseru] or させる[saseru]. These plain causative forms can then be conjugated as ru-verbs.
Verb group | Ending | Dictionary | Causative |
|---|---|---|---|
u-verb | -aseru | 書く kaku to write | 書かせる kakaseru to make/let write |
ru-verb | -saseru | 見る miru to look/see | 見させる misaseru to make/let see |
Irregular | – | 来る kuru to come | 来させる kosaseru to make/let come |
する suru to do | させる saseru to make/let do |
A passive sentence describes a situation in which the subject is directly or indirectly affected by an action. There are two types of passive sentences in Japanese:
A direct passive is a lot like the English passive. The subject directly undergoes the action, and the doer of the action is most commonly marked by に[ni] or から[aseru].
絵が泥棒に盗まれた。
E ga dorobō ni nusumareta.
The painting was stolen by a thief.
An indirect passive sentence has a similar structure, but is a bit different in meaning. Here, the subject is affected by the action (most often negatively), but doesn’t directly undergo the action. The noun that undergoes the action is marked most often by を[o].
その美術館は泥棒に絵を盗まれた。
Sono bijutsukan wa dorobō ni e o nusumareta.
The museum had a painting stolen by a thief.
Both types of passives require you to use a special passive form of the verb. This will end either with れる[areru] or られる[rareru]. The passive form of verbs all conjugate as ru-verbs.
Verb group | Ending | Dictionary | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
u-verb | -areru | 書く kaku to write | 書かれる kakareru to make/let write |
ru-verb | -rareru | 見る miru to look/see | 見られる mirareru to make/let see |
Irregular | – | 来る kuru to come | 来られる korareru to make/let come |
する suru to do | される sareru to make/let do |
Now that we have reviewed causative and passive sentences, let’s move onto causative-passive sentences, starting with the verb form!
To form the causative-passive of a Japanese verb, just form the plain causative verb and turn that base into a passive verb! Because all causative verbs are conjugated as ru-verbs, that means you’ll add られる[raru] to the causative stem.
Stem
Causative ending
remove る[ru]
Passive ending
られる[raru]
食べさせられる
tabesaserareru
to be made to eat
書かせられる
kakaserareru
to be made to write
Remember the “stem” of a ru-verb is formed by removing the final る[ru], so you’ll need to drop the final る (ru) from all causative verbs before adding the passive ending!
させる
saseru
させ-られる
sase-rareru
せる
aseru
させ-られる
ase-rareru
This means that causative-passives will usually end either with -sasereru (for ru-verbs) or -aserareru (for u-verbs)
However, there is more to learn! Some causative-passives have irregular forms and causative-passives formed from u-verbs also have a short form. Let’s have a look!
When you form a causative passive from a u-verb, there are two possible forms:
The full form follows the rules outlined above. Simply adding られる[rareru] to the causative stem. This effectively means you’re adding the ending -ase-rareru to the dictionary form.
The short form abbreviates the combined endings -aserareru to just -asareru which is easier to pronounce.
In everyday language, the short form is more common, so it’s important to learn to use this ending!
Dictionary Form | Causative | Causative-passive | |
|---|---|---|---|
Full Form | Short Form | ||
stem -aseru | stem -ase -rareru | stem -asareru | |
書く kaku to write | 書かせる kakaseru to make/let write | 書かせられる kakaserareru to be made to write | 書かされる kakasareru to be made to write |
読む yomu to read | 読ませる yomaseru to make/let read | 読ませられる yomaserareru to be made to read | 読まされる yomasareru to be made to read |
When the dictionary form of u-verbs ends with す[su], as in 話す[hanasu](to speak; to talk), then you’ll only use the long form of the causative. That way, you avoid all the “s” sounds you’d otherwise end up saying in the short form: “sasaseru”
Dictionary Form | Causative-passive | |
|---|---|---|
Full Form | Short Form | |
話す hanasu to speak; to talk | ✅ 話させられる hanasaserareru to be made to talk | ❌ 話さされる hanasasaseru |
The causative-passive form of irregular verbs follow the same rule as the ru-verbs: drop the last る from the causative form and add the passive ending られる[rareru]. Just remember that the causative base you’re adding the passive ending to is still irregular!
Dictionary Form | Causative form | Causative-passive |
|---|---|---|
irregular | drop る, add られる | |
来る kuru to come | 来させる kosaseru to make/let come | 来させられる kosaserareru to be made to come |
する suru to do | させる saseru to make/let do | させられる saserareru to be made to do |
A Japanese causative-passive sentence typically involves three major elements:
An action, expressed by the causative-passive form of the verb
An actor, who performs the action
A causer, whose authority makes, causes, or allows the action to take place
We saw above that in a plain causative sentence, the causer is the subject, while the actor is an object. A causative-passive is the passive of a sentence like this, so the actor is the subject, and the causer is usually marked by the particles に[ni] or から[kara].
Actor + は/が
subject
Causer + に/から
Verb
causative-passive
私は母に部屋を掃除させられた
Watashi wa haha ni heya o sōji saserareta.
I was made to clean my room by my mother.
生徒が先生に家に帰らされた
Seito ga sensei ni ie ni kaerasareta.
The students were made to go home by the teacher.
When 私[watashi](I) is the subject of a causative-passive sentence, it’s usually marked by the topic marker は or omitted whenever it can be understood from context.
Compare the sentences above with their active equivalents:
母が私に部屋を掃除させた
Haha ga watashi ni heya o sōji saseta.
My mother made me clean my room.
先生が 生徒を家に 帰らせた
Sensei ga seito o ie ni kaeraseta.
The teacher made the students go home.
You can form a causative-passive from an intransitive verb as long as the verb is something that the actor might do on purpose, like “running” or “returning.”
However, you generally can’t turn a causative sentence into a causative-passive sentence when the verb is non-volitional (an action the subject doesn’t have control over), like 咲く[saku](to bloom) or 降る[furu](to fall (rain or snow)).
✅ 春の雨が花を咲かせた。
Haru no ame ga hana o sakaseta.
The spring rain made the flowers bloom.
❌ 花は春の雨に咲かされた 。
Hana wa haru no ame ni sakasareta.
The flowers are made to bloom by the spring rain.
There are two main cases where you will use the causative-passive in Japanese:
The actor is forced to do something
The actor is made to feel or think something by a causer (a reaction)
Importantly, a causative-passive sentence focuses on the actor’s experience of the situation. This is what makes causative-passives different from the plain causative, which focuses on the causer’s involvement. Notice, though, that there is one use of the regular causative that doesn’t have a parallel in the causative passive!
Regular Causative | Causative passive |
|---|---|
The causer forces the actor to do something | The actor is forced to do something |
The causer makes the actor feel or think something | The actor is made to feel or think something by the causer (a reaction) |
The causer lets the actor do something | ❌ The actor is allowed to do something by the causer |
Let’s have a look at the two cases you can use the causative-passive, and what you should do to express that last meaning in Japanese.
We can use a causative-passive sentence when the actor is made or forced to do something against their own will. You might hear this called a "coercive causative.”
私は母に無理やりピアノを習わされた。
Watashi wa haha ni muriyari piano o narawasareta.
I was forced to take piano lessons by my mother.
Notice that this sentence focuses on my experience of being forced. Compare that with the non-passive causative equivalent, which focuses more on what my mother did to force me:
母は私に無理やりピアノを習わせた。
Haha wa watashi ni muriyari piano o narawaseta.
My mother forced me to take piano lessons.
Usually the causative-passive has a bit of a negative flavor for the actor: they’re doing something against their will. This is because the causative passive is, essentially, a use of the indirect passive, a type of passive that implies that the subject suffered because of the action.
Let’s suppose Taro, a seven-year-old boy, dug a hole in the backyard with a great plan to trap something or someone. The mother noticed the hole and decided to take action. In both of the sentences below, Taro is understood to be suffering from the action.
太郎は母親に穴を 埋められた。
Tarō wa hahaoya ni ana o umerareta.
To Taro’s disappointment, his mother filled the hole.
lit. Taro had the hole filled by his mother.
太郎は母親に穴を埋めさせられた。
Tarō wa hahaoya ni ana o umesaserareta.
Taro was made, by his mother, to fill the hole.
The situation described is a bit different, because one is causative while the other is not, but in both cases, the subject of the sentence suffers.
We can also use a causative passive sentence when the actor has some reaction triggered in them by the causer. Usually this means that the causer triggers an emotion or a thought:
emotion
make surprised, make disappointed, make irritated, ...
thought
make think, make reflect, ...
In these cases too, the difference between the causative and the causative-passive is a matter of whose experience is the focus.
両親は無鉄砲な弟にいつもハラハラさせられています。
Ryōshin wa muteppōna otōto ni itsumo harahara saserarete imasu.
My parents are always made nervous by my reckless younger brother.
無鉄砲な弟はいつも両親をハラハラさせています。
Muteppō na otōto wa itsumo ryōshin o harahara sasete imasu.
My reckless younger brother always makes my parents nervous.
When the cause of a reaction is an event or something other than a person, the causative-passive sentence version will often sound more natural than the plain causative.
✅ (私は) 田中さんの発言に考えさせられた。
(Watashi wa) Tanaka san no hatsugen ni kangaesaserareta.
I was made to think by Mr. Tanaka’s words.
🆗 田中さんの発言は私に考えさせた。
Tanaka san no hatsugen wa watashi ni kangaesaseta.
Mr. Tanaka’s words made me think.
Not all emotional reactions can be expressed using causative-passive sentences, even when the causative structure is just fine. To some extent, learning which emotional reactions make good causative-passive sentences will be a matter of practice, but there are some trends.
For example, generally you can’t use emotion verbs that mark the object of the emotion with を[o], such as 喜ぶ[yorokobu](to rejoice) or 悲しむ[kanashimu](to grieve), in the causative-passive.
✅ 孫誕生のニュースは母を喜ばせた。
Mago tanjō no nyūsu wa haha o yorokobaseta.
The news that her grandchild was born made my mother happy.
❌ 母は孫誕生のニュースに喜ばされた。
Haha wa mago tanjō no nyūsu ni yorokobasareta.
Intended: My mother was made happy by the news…
If you want to focus in on the experience of the person who felt the emotion in cases like these, it’s best to use the plain, non-causative emotion verb.
✅ 母は孫誕生のニュースを喜んだ。
Haha wa mago tanjō no nyūsu o yorokonda.
My mother rejoiced at the news that her grandchild was born.
We can’t use causative-passive sentences to express that an actor was allowed or permitted to do something by the causer. Even though we can use the plain causative to discuss the same basic situation.
母は音楽が好きな私にピアノを習わせた。
Haha wa ongaku ga sukina watashi ni piano o narawaseta.
My mother let me, a music lover, take piano lessons.
❌ 音楽が好きな私は、母にピアノを習わされた。
Ongaku ga sukina watashi wa, haha ni piano o narawasareta.
Intended: I, a music lover, was allowed to take piano lessons by my mother.
If you want focus on the actor’s experience of receiving permission, you’ll instead need to use an expression like 〜てもらう[...te morau] or 〜ていただく[...te itadaku]. These are the expressions we use to discuss giving and receiving favors in Japanese.
音楽が好きな私は、母にピアノを習わせてもらった。
Ongaku ga sukina watashi ha, haha ni piano o narawasete moratta.
I, a music lover, was allowed to take piano lessons by my mother.
You can think of it this way: the causative-passive should only be used in a situation where the actor didn’t want to perform the action or have a reaction. If the actor wanted it, then the “permission” is a favor, and so it should be expressed as a favor!
In this post, we introduced the causative-passive verb form in Japanese: how to form it and how to use it. Here are the main things to remember:
Form the causative-passive by adding the passive ending られる[rareru] to the causative stem.
The causative-passive is essentially the result of making a causative sentence passive: making the object of a causative sentence into the subject.
Causative sentence |
|---|
Causer + は Actor + に/を Causative verb 母は私に部屋を掃除させた Haha wa watashi ni heya o sōji saseta My mother made me clean my room |
Causative-passive sentence |
|---|
Actor + は Causer + に Causative-passive verb 私は母に部屋を掃除させられた Watashi wa haha ni heya o sōji saserareta. Iwas made to clean my room by my mother. |
Use the causative-passive to express that:
someone was forced to do something
someone was made to have some emotional or reaction
In general, you will only use the causative-passive in a case where the actor did not want to perform the action.
Ready to practice what you’ve learned? Check out our Japanese causative-passive activities! Happy learning!
