Passive and causative forms mark the point where Japanese grammar starts to feel like a puzzle. The conjugations look alike, the English translations are awkward, and they appear together in N4 and N3 questions. Once you see the logic, though, they are consistent.
The three ideas
- Passive (受身): something happens to the subject. 私は先生にほめられた。— I was praised by the teacher.
- Causative (使役): the subject makes or lets someone do something. 先生は学生に本を読ませた。— The teacher made the students read.
- Causative-passive (使役受身): the subject is made to do something. 私は先生に本を読まされた。— I was made to read the book by the teacher.
If you know the three ideas, the rest is conjugation.
Passive conjugation
| Group | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Godan | ending changes to あ-row + れる | 書く → 書かれる, 読む → 読まれる |
| Ichidan | drop る + られる | 食べる → 食べられる, 見る → 見られる |
| する | される | 注意する → 注意される |
| 来る | 来られる (こられる) | 来る → 来られる |
If you need a refresher on groups, see ichidan vs godan verbs.
Note that the passive of ichidan verbs looks the same as the potential form (食べられる can mean "can eat" or "is eaten"). Context decides.
Types of passive
- Direct passive: 私は犬に噛まれた。— I was bitten by a dog.
- Indirect (adversative) passive: the subject is affected, often negatively. 雨に降られた。— I got rained on (and was inconvenienced). English has no direct equivalent.
- Passive for objects: この本は多くの人に読まれています。— This book is read by many people. Common in writing.
The agent is marked with に (sometimes から or によって in formal writing).
Causative conjugation
| Group | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Godan | あ-row + せる | 書く → 書かせる, 読む → 読ませる |
| Ichidan | drop る + させる | 食べる → 食べさせる |
| する | させる | 勉強する → 勉強させる |
| 来る | 来させる (こさせる) | 来る → 来させる |
Meaning: make or let
The same form can mean either "make" or "let," depending on context and the relationship between people.
- 母は子供に野菜を食べさせた。— The mother made the child eat vegetables.
- 父は私に自由に選ばせてくれた。— My father let me choose freely. (with くれる, the "let" sense is clear)
Particles
- With an intransitive verb, the person caused to act takes を or に: 子供を泣かせた (made the child cry).
- With a transitive verb, the person takes に: 子供に野菜を食べさせた.
Causative-passive
Take the causative form and put it into the passive: 書かせる → 書かせられる, often shortened to 書かされる for godan verbs.
| Verb | Causative | Causative-passive |
|---|---|---|
| 書く | 書かせる | 書かされる |
| 読む | 読ませる | 読まされる |
| 食べる | 食べさせる | 食べさせられる |
| する | させる | させられる |
Meaning: I was made to X (usually against my wishes).
- 子供のとき、毎日ピアノを練習させられました。— As a child, I was made to practice the piano every day.
For godan verbs ending in す (e.g. 話す), the short form is not used: 話させられる.
A routine for learning the forms
- Build a chart. Pick 10 verbs of mixed groups and write all three forms for each.
- Say pairs aloud. "食べる、食べられる、食べさせる、食べさせられる."
- Write one sentence for each form about your own life.
The same incremental approach used for other forms works here; remember that spaced repetition helps when you review the conjugations on a schedule.
On the JLPT
At N4 you are expected to recognize the passive and causative; at N3 you must also handle the causative-passive. Common tasks:
- Fill in the blank with the correct form.
- Choose the sentence that matches the meaning of the situation.
- Understand who did what to whom in a reading passage.
The most frequent mistake is mixing up who the subject is. Always ask: who is acting, and who is being affected? If you keep getting these wrong, record them in a mistake log with the subject written in.
Where to go from here
For the broader N4 picture, see the JLPT N4 study plan. JLPT Ready's Learn section gives plain-language explanations for each grammar item and links to practice questions that test it, and each question comes with an AI explanation. You can start free with N5 and build up. The JLPT preparation guide shows the full path.