- Mistake: Using the passive when you mean causative passive.
Fix: If the sentence means “made to do,” use the combined form. - Mistake: Forgetting the affected person is often the subject.
Fix: Ask, “Who feels the inconvenience?” - Mistake: Assuming every causative passive sounds harsh.
Fix: It often does, but not always. Context matters. - Mistake: Mixing up させる saseru and させられる saserareru.
Fix: させる means “make/let,” while させられる means “be made to.” - Mistake: Ignoring casual short forms like 読まされる yomasareru.
Fix: Learn both the full and the natural spoken version.
Quick Reference Summary
- 使役受身 shieki ukemi = causative passive
- Meaning: “be made to do something”
- Built from causative + passive
- Often carries an inconvenient or pressured feeling
- Very common in formal speech and written Japanese
- Useful with bosses, teachers, parents, and any situation where life decides to be a little dramatic
If you want the next step after this lesson, review the plain causative form and the passive form side by side. The pair becomes much easier once you stop treating them like separate monsters.
The big takeaway is simple: 使役受身 shieki ukemi shows that someone caused an action and the speaker experienced it as something done to them. Learn the shape, notice the feeling, and the grammar stops being a puzzle box.
使役受身 shieki ukemi means the causative passive form in Japanese. Yes, it sounds like grammar decided to put on three coats and a scarf. But once you see the pattern, it becomes a lot less scary.
This form appears when someone is made to do something and then feels affected by it. It is common in stories, complaints, formal writing, and the kind of Japanese that makes learners sigh dramatically. The good news: it follows a logic. The even better news: that logic is learnable.
For a quick warm-up, this guide works best if you already know the basics of causative form, passive form, and the standard dictionary and masu forms. If you want a broader study path, the main hub is here: Learn Japanese.
And because practice matters more than noble suffering, you can also check your level with the Japanese Placement Test JLPT or the Japanese Vocabulary Test. Grammar likes company.
What The Causative Passive Means
The causative passive combines two ideas:
- 使役 shieki = causative, “make/let someone do something”
- 受身 ukemi = passive, “be done to”
So the overall feeling is: someone causes another person to do something, and that person is affected by it. In real Japanese, it often sounds like inconvenience, annoyance, or emotional pressure. Not always, but often enough that learners start side-eyeing the grammar.
使役受身 shieki ukemi often means “was made to do something” or “was forced into doing something.”
The Basic Pattern
The form is usually built from the causative, then turned into passive.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb causative + passive ending | Be made to do something | 書かせられる kakaserareru be made to write |
| Verb causative + passive ending | Be forced to speak | 話させられる hanasaserareru be made to speak |
| Verb causative + passive ending | Be made to eat | 食べさせられる tabesaserareru be made to eat |
Yes, some of these are long. Japanese occasionally enjoys making one verb feel like a small legal document.
How To Build It
The exact form depends on the verb group. Here is the practical version.
| Verb Type | How To Make Causative Passive | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Godan verbs | Change the final sound to a-row + せる, then add passive られる | 書く → 書かせる → 書かせられる | to write → to make write → to be made to write |
| Ichidan verbs | Drop る, add させる, then passive られる | 食べる → 食べさせる → 食べさせられる | to eat → to make eat → to be made to eat |
| Irregular verbs | Do the special causative, then passive られる | する → させる → させられる | to do → to make do → to be made to do |
The important part is not memorizing a magic chant. The important part is recognizing that the form is built from a causative idea plus a passive ending.
Real-Life Example Sentences
| Japanese | Rōmaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 先生に宿題をやらせられた。 | Sensei ni shukudai o yaraserareta. | I was made to do homework by the teacher. |
| 母に早く寝させられた。 | Haha ni hayaku nesaserareta. | I was made to go to bed early by my mother. |
| 上司に何度も訂正させられた。 | Jōshi ni nandomo teisei saserareta. | I was made to correct it many times by my boss. |
| 子どもに大きな声で読まされた。 | Kodomo ni ōkina koe de yomasareta. | I was made to read aloud by the child. |
| 会議で急に話させられた。 | Kaigi de kyū ni hanasaserareta. | I was suddenly made to speak in the meeting. |
| 友だちに荷物を持たせられた。 | Tomodachi ni nimotsu o motaserareta. | I was made to carry the luggage by a friend. |
| その仕事を一人でやらせられた。 | Sono shigoto o hitori de yaraserareta. | I was made to do that job alone. |
| 彼に長く待たせられた。 | Kare ni nagaku mataserareta. | I was made to wait a long time for him. |
| 部長に報告を書き直させられた。 | Buchō ni hōkoku o kakinaosaserareta. | I was made to rewrite the report by the manager. |
| 両親にピアノを習わされた。 | Ryōshin ni piano o narawasareta. | I was made to learn piano by my parents. |
Common Sentence Shapes
You will see a few patterns again and again. That is useful, because Japanese loves reusing forms in slightly annoying but actually very efficient ways.
| Pattern | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A に B を V-させられる | A makes B do V; B is affected | 先生に字を直させられた。 | I was made to fix the characters by the teacher. |
| A に V-させられる | Be made to do something by A | 親に勉強させられた。 | I was made to study by my parents. |
| V-させられる + てしまう idea | Feel forced and regretful | 残業させられてしまった。 | I ended up being made to work overtime. |
The particle に ni often marks the person who causes the action. The person who suffers or experiences the action is usually the subject. That change in viewpoint is the heart of the form.
Why It Feels So Long
Many learners first meet this form as 〜させられる ~saserareru or 〜せられる ~serareru. Both can show up, but in actual speaking, people often shorten the sound where possible.
For example, 読まされる yomasareru may be used in everyday speech instead of the fuller form 読ませられる yomaserareru. The exact choice depends on the verb, region, and level of speech. In other words, Japanese keeps a few extra options around just to stay interesting.
読ませられる yomaserareru and 読まされる yomasareru can both mean “be made to read,” but the shorter one is often more natural in casual speech.
Causative Passive Vs Causative Vs Passive
This is where many learners get tangled. So let’s make it clean.
| Form | Core Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 使役 shieki | Make or let someone do something | 先生が学生に書かせる。 | The teacher makes the student write. |
| 受身 ukemi | Be done to | 学生が先生に褒められる。 | The student is praised by the teacher. |
| 使役受身 shieki ukemi | Be made to do something and feel affected | 学生が先生に書かせられる。 | The student is made to write by the teacher. |
One helpful trick: if you can identify the “make/let” part and the “receive the action” part, the sentence stops looking like a monster and starts looking like a machine.
Useful Vocabulary For This Form
| Kanji | Rōmaji | Meaning | Example | Rōmaji | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 使役受身 | shieki ukemi | causative passive | 使役受身は少し長いです。 | Shieki ukemi wa sukoshi nagai desu. | The causative passive is a little long. |
| 使役 | shieki | causative | 使役の形を勉強します。 | Shieki no katachi o benkyō shimasu. | I study the causative form. |
| 受身 | ukemi | passive | 受身もよく使います。 | Ukemi mo yoku tsukaimasu. | The passive is also used often. |
| 命令 | meirei | command, order | 命令は少し強いです。 | Meirei wa sukoshi tsuyoi desu. | An order is a little strong. |
| 強制 | kyōsei | compulsion, forcing | 強制されると嫌です。 | Kyōsei sareru to iya desu. | Being forced feels unpleasant. |
| 負担 | futan | burden | 負担が大きいです。 | Futan ga ōkii desu. | The burden is big. |
| 迷惑 | meiwaku | trouble, inconvenience | 迷惑をかけました。 | Meiwaku o kakemashita. | I caused trouble. |
| 上司 | jōshi | boss, superior | 上司に言われました。 | Jōshi ni iwaremashita. | I was told by my boss. |
| 先生 | sensei | teacher | 先生に呼ばれました。 | Sensei ni yobaremashita. | I was called by the teacher. |
| 親 | oya | parent | 親に心配させられました。 | Oya ni shinpai saseraremashita. | I was made to worry by my parents. |
Practice: Build The Form
Try converting each verb into the causative passive. Then check the answer in your head before scrolling past your own brilliant effort.
- 書く kaku → 書かせられる kakaserareru
- 食べる taberu → 食べさせられる tabesaserareru
- 話す hanasu → 話させられる hanasaserareru
- 見る miru → 見させられる misaserareru
- する suru → させられる saserareru
- 来る kuru → 来させられる kosaserareru
Notice the rhythm: causative first, passive second. The form is long, but the order is tidy. Grammar does occasionally believe in discipline.
Spot The Difference
| Sentence | What It Means | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 先生が学生に本を読ませた。 | The teacher made the student read a book. | Causative only. The teacher is the controller. |
| 学生は先生に本を読まされた。 | The student was made to read a book by the teacher. | Causative passive. The student feels affected. |
| 本は先生に読まれた。 | The book was read by the teacher. | Plain passive. No “made to” feeling. |
The difference is not just grammar decoration. It changes who has power, who feels pressure, and what kind of emotional shade the sentence carries.
Common Mistakes And Fixes
Here are the traps that catch people most often.
- Mistake: Using the passive when you mean causative passive.
Fix: If the sentence means “made to do,” use the combined form. - Mistake: Forgetting the affected person is often the subject.
Fix: Ask, “Who feels the inconvenience?” - Mistake: Assuming every causative passive sounds harsh.
Fix: It often does, but not always. Context matters. - Mistake: Mixing up させる saseru and させられる saserareru.
Fix: させる means “make/let,” while させられる means “be made to.” - Mistake: Ignoring casual short forms like 読まされる yomasareru.
Fix: Learn both the full and the natural spoken version.
Quick Reference Summary
- 使役受身 shieki ukemi = causative passive
- Meaning: “be made to do something”
- Built from causative + passive
- Often carries an inconvenient or pressured feeling
- Very common in formal speech and written Japanese
- Useful with bosses, teachers, parents, and any situation where life decides to be a little dramatic
If you want the next step after this lesson, review the plain causative form and the passive form side by side. The pair becomes much easier once you stop treating them like separate monsters.
The big takeaway is simple: 使役受身 shieki ukemi shows that someone caused an action and the speaker experienced it as something done to them. Learn the shape, notice the feeling, and the grammar stops being a puzzle box.
