Intransitive & Transitive Verbs: 150 Verb Pairs (essential at N4-N3) [JLPT N4]

Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026

開く vs 開ける, 落ちる vs 落とす — the patterns and memory tricks for Japanese transitive/intransitive verbs

「電気が消えた」 vs 「電気を消した」 — intransitive and transitive verbs

「電気が消えた」 (the light went out) vs 「電気を消した」 (I turned off the light) — the difference is the verb: an intransitive (消える) means “the thing changes by itself” (takes が); a transitive (消す) means “a person does an action to it” (takes を). Japanese verbs come in pairs (開く/開ける, 始まる/始める…), and the wrong one mismatches the particle. This guide covers the core distinction, particle pairing, and the relationship with 「てある／ている」.

Core: the thing changes by itself (intransitive) vs a person does it (transitive)

Intransitive vs transitive differ by whether there's an agent, and the focus:

• Intransitive = the thing changes by itself (no agent stressed, takes が): 電気が消える (the light goes out), ドアが開く (the door opens).
• Transitive = a person does an action to the thing (an agent, takes を): 電気を消す (turn off the light), ドアを開ける (open the door).

Mnemonic: intransitive (が, changes itself)／transitive (を, a person does it).

Common intransitive-transitive pairs

例句（看情境）

• 電気が消えた。(The light went out.) — intransitive (went out by itself)
• 誰かが電気を消した。(Someone turned off the light.) — transitive (a person turned it off)
• ドアが開いた。(The door opened.) — intransitive
• 私がドアを開けた。(I opened the door.) — transitive
• 授業が始まる。／授業を始める。(Class begins.／(The teacher) begins class.) — intr./tr.

⚠️ Easy traps to avoid

① Particle pairing: intransitive takes が, transitive takes を. 電気が消える (✗ 電気を消える), 電気を消す (✗ 電気が消す). An intransitive's subject takes が, a transitive's object takes を; mismatch it and it's wrong.

② One word in Chinese/English, often two in Japanese. English “open” — Japanese splits into 「開く (the door opens, intr.)」 and 「開ける (I open the door, tr.)」. “Close, begin, turn off” all map to a Japanese intransitive-transitive pair, so learn them in pairs.

③ The 「てある (transitive)／ている (intransitive)」 pairing. 窓が開けてある (transitive ＋ てある, someone deliberately left it open); 窓が開いている (intransitive ＋ ている, the state of being open). てある pairs with transitives, the stative ている often with intransitives (see the 〈てある〉 guide).

🔄 Compare: intransitive／transitive／causative

💡 Learning tip

Intransitive-transitive verbs are a big hurdle in Japanese — because Chinese/English often use one word where Japanese splits into two. The core distinction is dead simple: the thing “changes by itself” = intransitive (takes が); a person “does it” = transitive (takes を). 電気が消えた (the light went out by itself, intr.) vs 電気を消した (I turned off the light, tr.). Study tip: learn them in pairs (開く/開ける, 閉まる/閉める, 始まる/始める, 消える/消す, 出る/出す…), and remember the “intr.→が, tr.→を” pairing. It also links to 「てある (transitive, a state someone made)／ている (intransitive, a natural state)」. Drill this set and your particles stop mismatching.

❓ FAQ

Q: Fastest way to tell intransitive from transitive?

By “does the thing change by itself” or “does a person do it”: intransitive = the thing changes by itself (no clear agent, takes が): ドアが開く (the door opens), 水が出る (water comes out), 授業が始まる (class begins). Transitive = a person does an action to the thing (an agent, takes を): ドアを開ける ((I) open the door), 水を出す (put/run the water out), 授業を始める ((the teacher) begins class). Rule of thumb: intransitive takes が (itself), transitive takes を (does it). One English “open” splits into 開く (intr.)/開ける (tr.) — learn them in pairs.

Q: What's the difference between 「窓が開いている」 and 「窓が開けてある」?

By intransitive vs transitive, and whether there's human intent. 「窓が開いている」 = intransitive (開く) ＋ ている, just describing “the state of the window being open” (not asking who, maybe blown open by wind). 「窓が開けてある」 = transitive (開ける) ＋ てある, stressing “someone deliberately opened it and left it that way” (for ventilation etc.). So for the same “window is open,” ている (intransitive) just states the state, てある (transitive) implies “a human action.” This is exactly where intransitive-transitive verbs link to 「ている／てある」 (see the 〈てある〉 guide).

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「電気___消えた。」(The light went out (by itself))

(A) が　(B) を　(C) に　(D) は

Q2. 「誰かが電気___消した。」(Someone turned off the light)

(A) が　(B) を　(C) に　(D) は

Q3. 「窓が___てある。」(The window has been deliberately left open) Which is the correct transitive verb?

(A) 開い　(B) 開け　(C) 開いてい　(D) 開かれ

Q4. 「始まる」と「始める」の違いは？

(A) They mean completely different, unrelated things

(B) 始まる = intransitive (the thing starts on its own); 始める = transitive (someone starts it)

(C) 始まる = transitive; 始める = intransitive

(D) They differ only in tense

Q5. 「財布が___。」(The wallet dropped — a natural occurrence)

(A) 落とした　(B) 落ちた　(C) 落としてある　(D) 落ちた and 落とした both work

Answer Explanations

1. (A) が ── 「電気が消えた」(the light went out) = 消える is an intransitive verb; the subject takes が, describing the light going out by itself, with no one performing the action (or without emphasizing it).

2. (B) を ── 「誰かが電気を消した」(someone turned off the light) = 消す is a transitive verb; the object (電気) takes を, someone having performed the act of turning off the light.

3. (B) 開け ── 「窓が開けてある」(the window has been deliberately left open) = てある only attaches to transitive verbs; 開ける (transitive) → 開けてある. 開く is intransitive and cannot take てある.

4. (B) ── 始まる (intransitive): 「授業が始まる」(class starts by itself); 始める (transitive): 「先生が授業を始める」(the teacher starts the class). This is a typical intransitive/transitive pair.

5. (B) 落ちた ── 「財布が落ちた」(the wallet dropped) = 落ちる is an intransitive verb, describing the wallet falling by itself, with the subject taking が. 落とした is transitive (to drop/lose something); the sentence would then be 「財布を落とした」(dropped/lost the wallet).