Lesson 68: 雨に 降られました

N4 · Lesson 68 · 18 min — Being praised, being scolded, getting rained on, who painted this: speak from the side of the one who receives the action

The passive form of Group 2 verbs looks exactly like the potential form (る→られる). Group 1 verbs change the う-row sound to the あ-row and add れる (the potential uses the え-row + る). This lesson has three steps: being ~ed, being affected by ~, and made by ~. Let's start with the comic!

After this lesson, you can:

• Say who did what to you: お客きゃくさんに ほめられました (A guest praised me)
• Use the passive for "it caused me trouble": 雨あめに 降ふられました (I got rained on)
• Say who made a work or invention: この 絵えは ゴッホによって 描かかれました (This painting was painted by Van Gogh)

Snow Day Passive

Rin promised Grandpa a spring visit. In January's big snow, he heads to his hotel job. (雪ゆき=snow; まっ白しろ=pure white)

Passive = れる／られる, even for "rained on me" troubles. Next: Mr. Kuma recalls his apprentice days 40 years ago...

Words for this lesson: snow days, work and artworks

• 降ふる (furu): (rain, snow) falls
• ほめる (homeru): to praise
• しかる (shikaru): to scold
• 遅刻ちこくする (chikoku suru): to be late
• お客きゃくさん (okyakusan): guest, customer
• 親切しんせつ (shinsetsu): kind
• からす (karasu): crow
• 大福だいふく (daifuku): daifuku (a soft rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste)
• 足あし (ashi): foot, leg
• ふむ (fumu): to step on
• 泣なく (naku): to cry
• 赤あかちゃん (akachan): baby
• 財布さいふ (saifu): wallet
• 盗ぬすむ (nusumu): to steal
• 絵え (e): painting, picture
• 描かく (kaku): to draw, to paint
• 発明はつめいする (hatsumei suru): invention; to invent

Grammar 1 / 3: Being ~ed

Aは Bに Vれる／Vられる: A is (verb)-ed by B

• What is the passive?: You describe an event from the side of the one who receives the action: 先生せんせいは リンを ほめました (The teacher praised Rin) → リンは 先生せんせいに ほめられました (Rin was praised by the teacher). Same event, different star of the sentence.
• The doer takes に: Put the receiver before は (or が) and the doer before に: リンは お客きゃくさんに ほめられました. When everyone knows who the doer is, you can leave it out: しかられました.
• How to form it: Group 1: う-row → あ-row + れる (かく→かかれる, ふむ→ふまれる, まつ→またれる). Verbs ending in う use わ: いう→いわれる. Group 2: る→られる (ほめる→ほめられる). Group 3: する→される, くる→こられる. The passive form is itself a Group 2 verb, so it keeps changing: ほめられます, ほめられた, ほめられない.
• Group 2 passive = potential form: For Group 2 verbs, the passive and the potential look exactly the same: 見みられる, 食たべられる. Use the context. からすに 食たべられました (eaten by a crow, with 「に + doer」). この 魚さかなは 食たべられますか (Can you eat this fish? 魚さかな=fish). Group 1 verbs are easy to tell apart: 読よめる (can read) / 読よまれる (is read).

• リンは お客きゃくさんに ほめられました。 — Rin was praised by a guest.
• 遅刻ちこくしたら、先生せんせいに しかられますよ。 — If you're late, you'll be scolded by the teacher.
• 先生せんせいに 日本語にほんごが 上手じょうずだと 言いわれました。 — The teacher told me my Japanese is good.
• わたしは 毎朝まいあさ 母ははに 起おこされます。 — I am woken up by my mother every morning. (起おこす=to wake someone up)
• この 本ほんは 世界中せかいじゅうで 読よまれています。 — This book is read all over the world. (世界中せかいじゅう=all over the world)
• ひらがなは 毎日まいにち 使つかわれています。 — Hiragana is used by everyone every day.

Grammar 2 / 3: Affected by ~

(わたしは) Nに V passive: because of someone's (or the weather's) action, I am troubled

• The passive of trouble: The Japanese passive can also mean "someone (or the weather) did something, and it troubled me." The "I" is the subject and is often left out: 雨あめに 降ふられました (The rain fell on me, and I got wet). Rin's line in the comic, 雪ゆきに 降ふられました, uses the same pattern.
• 降ふる and 泣なく can be passive too: Verbs with no を object, like 降ふる, 泣なく and 来くる, can also become passive. English has no exact match: 夜よる、赤あかちゃんに 泣なかれました (A baby cried at night and I couldn't sleep). The one who affects me, person or weather, still takes に.
• My thing was affected: To say something of yours or your body was affected, make a person the subject and keep を for the thing: わたしは からすに 大福だいふくを 食たべられました. わたしは 電車でんしゃで 足あしを ふまれました.
• Not for happy things: This passive carries a feeling of trouble or bad luck. If a friend visits and you are happy, say 友ともだちが 来きて くれました. 友ともだちに 来こられました sounds like "A friend came over, and it was a problem for me."

• 雨あめに 降ふられました。 — I got rained on.
• わたしは からすに 大福だいふくを 食たべられました。 — A crow ate my daifuku.
• 電車でんしゃで 足あしを ふまれました。 — On the train, my foot was stepped on.
• 駅えきで 財布さいふを 盗ぬすまれました。 — My wallet was stolen at the station.
• 夜よる、となりの 赤あかちゃんに 泣なかれました。 — The baby next door cried all night (and I couldn't sleep).
• いそがしい とき、友ともだちに 来こられました。 — A friend came over when I was busy (and it was a problem).

Grammar 3 / 3: By ~ (creator)

Nは Nによって V passive: (a work, invention, discovery) was made by ~

• によって = by ~: To say who made a work, invention or discovery, put によって after the creator: この 絵えは ゴッホによって 描かかれました (This painting was painted by Van Gogh).
• The subject is a thing: The subject is a work, building or invention: 絵え, 本ほん, お寺てら, 電話でんわ... The verbs are often 書かく, 描かく, 作つくる, 建たてる, 発明はつめいする, 発見はっけんする (建たてる=to build; 発見はっけんする=to discover).
• に or によって?: For daily things like "praised, scolded, stepped on," use に: 先生せんせいに ほめられました. For who made a work, に is also possible, but によって is more formal and more common on guide signs: ゴッホによって 描かかれました. Either way, the doer in a passive sentence never takes が.
• Where will you see it?: You will often see it on signs and in tours at museums, temples and hotel lobbies. To ask "Who wrote this book?", say: この 本ほんは だれによって 書かかれましたか.

• この 絵えは ゴッホによって 描かかれました。 — This painting was painted by Van Gogh.
• 電話でんわは ベルによって 発明はつめいされました。 — The telephone was invented by Bell.
• この ホテルは 有名ゆうめいな 建築家けんちくかによって 建たてられました。 — This hotel was built by a famous architect. (建築家けんちくか=architect; 建たてる=to build)
• この お寺てらは 400年ねん 前まえに 建たてられました。 — This temple was built 400 years ago. (400年ねん前まえ = 400 years ago; number + 年ねん前まえ = ~ years ago; 建たてる=to build)
• 新あたらしい 星ほしが 日本にほんの 学生がくせいによって 発見はっけんされました。 — A new star was discovered by Japanese students. (星ほし=star)
• この 本ほんは だれによって 書かかれましたか。 — Who wrote this book?