Vocabulary

あげる ru-verb

to give; to raise

くれる

to give ^(ur-verb)

全部(ぜん・ぶ)

everything

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

着る(き・る) ru-verb

to wear

信じる(しん・じる) ru-verb

to believe

寝る(ね・る) ru-verb

to sleep

起きる(お・きる) ru-verb

to wake; to occur

出る(で・る) ru-verb

to come out

掛ける(か・ける) ru-verb

to hang

捨てる(す・てる) ru-verb

to throw away

調べる(しら・べる) ru-verb

to investigate

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

泳ぐ(およ・ぐ) u-verb

to swim

遊ぶ(あそ・ぶ) u-verb

to play

待つ(ま・つ) u-verb

to wait

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

直る(なお・る) u-verb

to be fixed

死ぬ(し・ぬ) u-verb

to die

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

する exception

to do

来る(く・る) exception

to come

先生(せん・せい)

teacher

学生(がく・せい)

student

宿題(しゅく・だい)

homework

たくさん

a lot (amount)

質問(しつ・もん)

question

今日(きょう)

today

仕事(し・ごと)

job

休む(やす・む) u-verb

to rest

その

abbreviation of それの

部長(ぶ・ちょう)

section manager

いい i-adj

good

長時間(ちょう・じ・かん)

long period of time

働く(はたら・く) u-verb

to work

トイレ(to i re)

bathroom; toilet

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

Verbs conjugated into the causative form are used to indicate an action that someone makes happen. Like Captain Picard so succinctly puts it, the causative verb means to “make it so”. This verb is usually used in the context of making somebody do something. The really confusing thing about the causative verb is that it can also mean to let someone do something. Or maybe this is a different type of verb with the exact same conjugation rules. Whichever the case may be, a verb in the causative form can mean either making or letting someone do something. The only good news is that when the causative form is used with あげる and くれる, it almost always means to “let someone do”. Once you get used to it, surprisingly, it becomes quite clear which meaning is being used when.

1. 全部食べさせた。
   Made/Let (someone) eat it all.

2. 全部食べさせてくれた。
   Let (someone) eat it all.

Examples

Here are some examples using the causative verb. Context will usually tell you which is being meant, but for our purposes we will assume that when the verb is used with あげる and くれる (ください) it means “to let someone do” while it means, “to make someone do” when used without it.

1. 先生が学生に宿題をたくさんさせた。
   Teacher made students do lots of homework.

2. 先生が質問をたくさん聞かせてくれた。
   Teacher let (someone) ask lots of questions.

3. 今日は仕事を休ませてください。
   Please let me rest from work today. (Please let me take the day off today.)

4. その部長は、よく長時間働かせる。
   That manager often makes (people) work long hours.

When asking for permission to let someone do something, it is more common to use the ～てもいい grammar.

1. トイレに行かせてくれますか。
   Can you let me go to the bathroom? (Sounds like a prisoner, even in English)

2. トイレに行ってもいいですか。
   Is it ok to go to the bathroom? (No problem here)

Vocabulary

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

する exception

to do

来る(く・る) exception

to come

同じ(おな・じ)

same

こと

event, matter

何回(なん・かい)

how many times

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

お腹(お・なか)

stomach

空く(あ・く) u-verb

to become empty

何(なに／なん)

what

くれる ru-verb

to give

There is a shorter version of the causative conjugation, which I will go over for completeness. However, since this version is mostly used in very rough slang, you are free to skip this section until you’ve had time to get used to the regular form. Also, textbooks usually don’t cover this version of the causative verb.

The key difference in this version is that all verbs become an u-verbs with a す ending. Therefore, the resulting verb would conjugate just like any other u-verb ending in す such as 話す or 指す. The first part of the conjugation is the same as the original causative form. However, for ru-verbs, instead of attaching させる, you attach さす and for u-verbs, you attach す instead of せる. As a result, all the verbs become an u-verb ending in す.

Examples

1. 同じことを何回も言わすな！
   Don’t make me say the same thing again and again!

2. お腹空いているんだから、なんか食べさしてくれよ。
   I’m hungry so let me eat something.

Vocabulary

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

着る(き・る) ru-verb

to wear

信じる(しん・じる) ru-verb

to believe

寝る(ね・る) ru-verb

to sleep

起きる(お・きる) ru-verb

to wake; to occur

出る(で・る) ru-verb

to come out

掛ける(か・ける) ru-verb

to hang

捨てる(す・てる) ru-verb

to throw away

調べる(しら・べる) ru-verb

to investigate

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

聞く(き・く) u-verb

to ask; to listen

泳ぐ(およ・ぐ) u-verb

to swim

遊ぶ(あそ・ぶ) u-verb

to play

待つ(ま・つ) u-verb

to wait

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

直る(なお・る) u-verb

to be fixed

死ぬ(し・ぬ) u-verb

to die

買う(か・う) u-verb

to buy

する exception

to do

来る(く・る) exception

to come

ポリッジ(po ri j ju)

porridge

誰(だれ)

who

皆(みんな)

everybody

変(へん) na-adj

strange

言う(い・う) u-verb

to say

光(ひかり)

light

速い(はや・い) i-adj

fast

超える(こ・える) ru-verb

to exceed

不可能(ふ・か・のう)

impossible

思う(おも・う) u-verb

to think

この

this (abbr. of これの)

教科書(きょう・か・しょ)

textbook

多い(おお・い) i-adj

numerous

人(ひと)

person

読む(よ・む) u-verb

to read

外国人(がい・こく・じん)

foreigner

質問(しつ・もん)

question

答える(こた・える) ru-verb

to answer

パッケージ(pa k ke e ji)

package

あらゆる

all

含む(ふく・む) u-verb

to include

Passive verbs are verbs that are done to the (passive) subject. Unlike English style of writing which discourages the use of the passive form, passive verbs in Japanese are often used in essays and articles.

Examples

1. ポリッジが誰かに食べられた！
   The porridge was eaten by somebody!

2. みんなに変だと言われます。
   I am told by everybody that (I’m) strange.

3. 光の速さを超えるのは、不可能だと思われる。
   Exceeding the speed of light is thought to be impossible.

4. この教科書は多くの人に読まれている。
   This textbook is being read by a large number of people.

5. 外国人に質問を聞かれたが、答えられなかった。
   I was asked a question by a foreigner but I couldn’t answer.

6. このパッケージには、あらゆるものが含まれている。
   Everything is included in this package.

Vocabulary

どう

how

する exception

to do

領収証(りょう・しゅう・しょう)

receipt

明日(あした)

tomorrow

会議(かい・ぎ)

meeting

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

While we will go over various types of grammar that express a politeness level above the normal -masu/-desu forms in the next lesson, it is useful to know that using passive form is another more polite way to express an action. In Japanese, a sentence is usually more polite when it is less direct. For example, it is more polite to refer to someone by his or her name and not by the direct pronoun “you”. It is also more polite to ask a negative question than a positive one. (For example, しますか？ vs. "" しませんか？"") In a similar sense, using the passive form makes the sentence less direct because the subject does not directly perform the action. This makes it sound more polite. Here is the same sentence in increasing degrees of politeness.

1. どうする？
   What will you do? (lit: How do?)

2. どうしますか？
   Regular polite.

3. どうされますか？
   Passive polite.

4. どうなさいますか？
   Honorific (to be covered next lesson)

5. どうなさいますでしょうか？
   Honorific + a lesser degree of certainty.

Notice how the same sentence grows longer and longer as you get more and more indirect.

Examples

1. 領収証はどうされますか？
   What about your receipt? (lit: How will you do receipt?)

2. 明日の会議に行かれるんですか？
   Are you going to tomorrow’s meeting?

Vocabulary

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

朝ご飯(あさ・ご・はん)

breakfast

日本(に・ほん)

Japan

お酒(お・さけ)

alcohol

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

こと

event, matter

多い(おお・い) i-adj

numerous

あいつ

that guy (derogatory)

～時間(～じ・かん)

counter for span of hour(s)

待つ(ま・つ) u-verb

to wait

親(おや)

parent

宿題(しゅく・だい)

homework

する exception

to do

The causative-passive form is simply the combination of causative and passive conjugations to mean that the action of making someone do something was done to that person. This would effectively translate into, “[someone] is made to do [something]”. The important thing to remember is the order of conjugation. The verb is first conjugated to the causative and then passive, never the other way around.

Examples

1. 朝ご飯は食べたくなかったのに、食べさせられた。
   Despite not wanting to eat breakfast, I was made to eat it.

2. 日本では、お酒を飲ませられることが多い。
   In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous.

3. あいつに二時間も待たせられた。
   I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy.

4. 親に毎日宿題をさせられる。
   I am made to do homework everyday by my parent(s).

Vocabulary

行く(い・く) u-verb

to go

立つ(た・つ) u-verb

to stand

食べる(た・べる) ru-verb

to eat

話す(はな・す) u-verb

to speak

学生(がく・せい)

student

廊下(ろう・か)

hall, corridor

日本(に・ほん)

Japan

お酒(お・さけ)

alcohol

飲む(の・む) u-verb

to drink

こと

event, matter

多い(おお・い) i-adj

numerous

あいつ

that guy (derogatory)

～時間(～じ・かん)

counter for span of hour(s)

待つ(ま・つ) u-verb

to wait

Going along with the shorter causative alternative, you can also use the same conjugation for the causative-passive form. I won’t cover it in too much detail because the usefulness of this form is rather limited just like the shorter causative form itself. The idea is to simply used the shortened causative form instead of using the regular causative conjugation. The rest is the same as before.

This form cannot be used in cases where the shorter causative form ends in さす, in other words, you can’t have a さされる ending.

Examples

1. 学生が廊下に立たされた。
   The student was made to stand in the hall.

2. 日本では、お酒を飲まされることが多い。
   In Japan, the event of being made to drink is numerous.

3. あいつに二時間も待たされた。
   I was made to wait 2 hours by that guy.