The passive: 〜られる

The passive turns the sentence around: instead of “the manager praised me”, you say “I was praised by the manager”. Japanese uses it more than English — to talk about what happened to you, to complain politely about something that troubled you, and in news and official notices. This lesson also covers a common problem for new residents: a bicycle removed because it was parked in the wrong place.

Making the passive

Group 1: change the last u-sound to the a-sound and add れる: 書く → 書かれる, 言う → 言われる (う becomes わ). Group 2: る → られる: ほめる → ほめられる. Irregular: する → される, 来る → 来られる (こられる). Every passive verb is a group 2 verb: ほめられます, ほめられて, ほめられた.

Group	Dictionary form	Passive	Polite past
1	書く	書かれる	書かれました
1	言う	言われる	言われました
1	盗ぬすむ	盗ぬすまれる	盗ぬすまれました
1	ふる	ふられる	ふられました
2	ほめる	ほめられる	ほめられました
2	見る	見られる	見られました
irregular	する / 注意する	される / 注意される	注意されました
irregular	来る	来られる (こられる)	来られました

Group 2 passives look the same as the potential (lesson 7): 見られる can mean “can see” or “is seen”. The particles tell you which: in the passive, the person who does the action takes に.

What someone did to you: 〜に〜られました

私は部長ぶちょうにほめられました — “I was praised by the department manager.” リーダーに注意されました — “I was warned by the team leader.” 知らない人に名前を聞かれました — “A stranger asked me my name.” The person the action happens to is the topic (は, often left out); the person who does it takes に; anything else keeps its particle (名前を).

Something that troubled you: the suffering passive

Japanese also uses the passive for things that happened to you and caused trouble, even with intransitive verbs: 雨にふられました — “I got caught in the rain.” 電車で足をふまれました — “Someone stepped on my foot on the train.” 自転車を盗ぬすまれました — “My bicycle was stolen.” 夜中よなかに子どもに泣なかれて、ねられませんでした — “The baby cried in the night and I couldn’t sleep.” It is a polite way to complain: you describe what happened to you without blaming anyone directly.

News and notices: 〜が〜られます

News and official notices often use the passive with things as the subject: あした、町の公民みん館で会議かいぎが開かれます — “A meeting will be held at the town community centre tomorrow.” この建物は百年前に建てられました — “This building was built a hundred years ago.” この会社の製品せいひんは世界中で使われています — “This company’s products are used all over the world.” For who made or wrote something, written Japanese uses 〜によって: この本は有名な医者いしゃによって書かれました. Recognise によって; you don’t need to use it yet.

Bicycles: parking and the rules

A bicycle is the cheapest way to get around many Japanese towns, but parking is strict. Near stations, bicycles left outside a bicycle parking area (駐輪場ちゅうりんじょう) can be removed by the city and taken to a storage site. A notice is often attached first: ここに自転車をおかないでください。撤てっ去します — “Do not leave bicycles here. They will be removed.” To get it back you usually go to the storage site with ID and the key, and pay a fee; the city website or the notice shows where it is.

グエン：すみません、きのう駅の前においた自転車がないんですが…。
駅員：あそこは自転車をおいてはいけない場所しょですから、市しに運ばれたかもしれません。この紙に保管所ほかんじょの場所しょが書いてあります。
グエン：そうですか。盗ぬすまれたと思って、心配ぱいしました。
駅員：保管所ほかんじょに行くときは、在留ざいりゅうカードと自転車のかぎを持もって行ってください。

Nguyen: Excuse me, the bicycle I left in front of the station yesterday is gone … Staff: That’s a no-parking area for bicycles, so it may have been taken away by the city. This leaflet shows where the storage site is. Nguyen: I see. I thought it had been stolen and was worried. Staff: When you go to the storage site, take your residence card and the bicycle key.

In Japan bicycles must be registered for crime prevention (防犯登録ぼうはんとうろく) — the shop does it when you buy one. Cyclists must follow traffic rules: ride on the left side of the road, no phone while riding, no umbrella in your hand, lights on at night. From April 2026, police can give fines (“blue tickets”) to cyclists aged 16 and over for some of these violations. Check your city’s and the police website for details.

New kanji: 自, 転, 運, 集, 知, 動

自 is self: 自分 (じぶん, oneself), 自由ゆう (じゆう, freedom). 転 is to roll or turn: 自転車 (じてんしゃ, “self-turning vehicle”), 転ぶ (ころぶ, to fall over). 運 is to carry: 運ぶ (はこぶ), 運転 (うんてん, driving). 集 is to gather: 集める (あつめる, to collect) and 集まる (あつまる, to gather) — another pair from lesson 18. 知 is to know: 知る (しる), 知らせる (しらせる, to inform), お知らせ (notice) — you can now write it without furigana. 動 is to move: 動く (うごく), 運動 (うんどう, exercise), 自動 (じどう, automatic — 自動ドア).

Common mistakes

• The wrong particle for the doer: 部長ぶちょうからほめられました is possible, but 部長ぶちょうにほめられました is the normal form; 部長ぶちょうがほめられました means the manager was praised.
• 言う → 言あれる ✗ → 言われる ✓.
• Using the passive for a favour: 先ぱいに教おしえられました sounds as if it was a burden; for a favour use 教おしえてもらいました (lesson 13).
• Confusing passive and potential: 見られる = “can see” or “is seen” — look for に (doer) or が (what you can see).
• Parking a bicycle in front of the station: use the 駐輪場ちゅうりんじょう or it may be removed.

How to practise

• Write three things that happened to you this week with the passive: one good (ほめられました), one bad (注意されました), one trouble (雨にふられました).
• Find a notice or a news headline with 〜られます or 〜されます and translate it.
• Write 自, 転, 運, 集, 知 and 動 on the worksheet and do the exercises.