Japanese Causative-Passive Voice: Being Made to Do
You've learned the passive voice ("was done") and the causative voice ("make/let do"). Now it's time to combine them into one of the most complex, yet expressive, verb forms in Japanese: the Causative-Passive Voice.
This form is used to express that you were forced to do something against your will. It combines the "suffering" nuance of the passive with the "making someone do" meaning of the causative. The result is a powerful way to talk about being on the receiving end of an unwanted order.
Making the Causative-Passive Form
The rules for forming this voice are a logical combination of the two forms you've already learned.
- Group 1 (u-verbs): Take the verb's ない-form stem (the 'a' sound) and add
せられる (serareru). In conversation, this is often shortened to
される (sareru).
Example: 書く (kaku) → 書か (kaka) → 書かせられる / 書かされる (kakasareru) - Group 2 (ru-verbs): Take the causative form (verb stem + させる) and add
られる (rareru).
Example: 食べる (taberu) → 食べさせる → 食べさせられる (tabesaserareru) - Group 3 (Irregular): する → させられる (saserareru), 来る (kuru) → 来させられる (kosaserareru)
Note: The causative-passive form always conjugates as a Group 2 (ru-verb).
How to Use the Causative-Passive
The sentence structure is very similar to the "suffering passive." The person who was forced is the topic, and the person who did the forcing is marked with に (ni).
[Person Forced] は [Forcer] に [Object] を [Verb (Causative-Passive)]。
私は母に野菜を食べさせられました。
(Watashi wa haha ni yasai o tabesaseraremashita.)
I was made to eat vegetables by my mother.
弟は父に部屋を掃除させられました。
(Otōto wa chichi ni heya o sōji saseraremashita.)
My little brother was made to clean his room by our father.
This is a difficult grammar point, but it's very useful for expressing your feelings about a situation. Congratulations on completing Chapter 10 and mastering the different voices of Japanese verbs!