In Japanese, the passive form is used only in certain situations. Unlike English passive voice, Japanese passive often expresses not only “receiving an action” but also the speaker’s feelings or the effect on the speaker.
For Japanese learners, it is helpful to explain passive sentences in these three groups:
① Receiving an action from another person Examples 父に怒られる → to be scolded by one’s father 父にほめられる → to be praised by one’s father 道を聞かれる → to be asked for directions Main idea
This type shows that someone receives an action from another person.
Pattern
A は B に V-られる
Examples:
私は父に怒られた。 → I was scolded by my father. 私は先生にほめられた。 → I was praised by my teacher. 私は外国人に道を聞かれた。 → A foreigner asked me for directions. Why is 「道を聞かれる」 passive?
English speakers often think:
“Someone asked me the way.”
So they may wonder: Why not simply say:
外国人が私に道を聞いた。
In Japanese, however, the passive form is natural because the speaker feels:
someone suddenly spoke to me I became the person dealing with the situation I received the action
Common expressions:
道を聞かれる 名前を聞かれる 電話番号を聞かれる
These are understood as: “receiving a question from someone.”
② Passive for damage, trouble, or inconvenience
(迷惑の受け身 / nuisance passive)
Examples 蚊にさされる → to be bitten by a mosquito 足をふまれる → to have one’s foot stepped on 財布をぬすまれる → to have one’s wallet stolen Main idea
Japanese often uses the passive form when the speaker feels:
troubled annoyed negatively affected
The speaker’s feeling is important.
Compare Normal sentence 誰かが私の財布をぬすんだ。 → Someone stole my wallet. Passive sentence 私は財布をぬすまれた。 → I had my wallet stolen.
The passive sentence emphasizes: “I suffered damage / I was affected.”
Difference from English
In English, passive voice is mostly grammatical.
In Japanese, emotion and personal impact are very important.
That is why Japanese often uses passive with unpleasant situations:
蚊にさされた！ 足をふまれた… 雨に降られた。 「雨に降られた」 is a famous example
English usually does not say:
“I was rained on.”
But Japanese says:
雨に降られた。
Meaning: “The rain caused trouble for me.”
This is a classic example of the nuisance passive.
③ Passive for objective facts or explanations Example 電気はエジソンによって発明された。 → Electricity was invented by Edison. Main idea
This use is closest to the English passive voice.
The focus is not “who did it,” but:
what was created what happened Common situations History この寺は800年前に建てられた。 → This temple was built 800 years ago. News 新しい駅が作られました。 → A new station was built. Science 電話はベルによって発明された。 → The telephone was invented by Bell. 「によって」
When mentioning the person or organization responsible, Japanese sometimes uses:
エジソンによって にほんせいふ によって
However, this sounds formal and is more common in writing than casual conversation.
Thank you for coming to the lesson. We continued learning how to use the particles “de” and “no” through example sentences. We have now finished covering the basic Japanese particles. You answered all 10 questions correctly on the review quiz, so I believe you have mastered them well. Next week, we will return to the textbook and work on Intermediate 1 Lesson 10.
