As you know, in many cases the passive voice is preferred over the active voice in Japanese. In fact, it would sound unnatural to say, “Ryan asked me to go on a date.” Instead, you would say, “Ryan asked me to go on a date.” This may seem unusual, but you should be familiar with it because it is an integral part of the Japanese language. This Lower Intermediate Japanese article focuses on all kinds of passive expressions. You will learn how to form natural sounding Japanese sentences using watashi as a subject. As a bonus, find out what the popular “problem passive voice” is and how to use it to show empathy. As always, apply the Japanese in this low-intermediate Japanese article to your life with the many examples and vocabulary words you can use on a daily basis.

Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

shichimenchoo– “turkey”

Sankusu Gibingu – “Thanksgiving”

kanshasai – “Thanksgiving”

kitay – “expectation”

tsurete iku – “carry a living being somewhere”

tanoshimi – “enjoy, pleasure, desire”

Shuppatsu – “go out”

Shimeru – “strangle”

hane – “feather, wing”

obobun – “finished”

roosuto taakii – “roast turkey”

noooooooo – “farm”

noofu – “farmer, peasant”

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

Today’s lesson focuses on various passive expressions.

Active Voice vs. Passive voice

In Japanese, sentences in which we use the speaker (watashi) as a subject, sounds more natural. In the following cases, the passive voice is more natural than the active voice.

Today’s examples:

1. Kanshasai wa, kimi ga hiiroo da to go-shujin-san ni iwarete imasu.
   Go-shujin-san wa, watashi ni kanshasai wa, kimi ga hiiroo da to itte imasu.
   “My teacher told me you were a hero on Thanksgiving.”
2. (Watashi wa, go-shujin-san ni) Howaito hausu to iwaremashita.
   “They told me they would take me to the White House.”
3. (Go-shujin-san wa, watashi ni) Howaito hausu to iimashita.
   “My master said they would take me to the White House.”

Passive voice when referring to an unspecified person

As in the example below, when the person performing an action is not a specific person, we generally use the passive voice. In this case, the person who performs the action can be a cook, who is not a specific person. So the passive voice would be more natural.

1. Shimerarete, hane or torarete, oobun or irerareta, yakarete…
   “He will be strangled, his feathers will be plucked, he will be put in the oven and then baked.”
2. Active:
   “A cook will strangle him, pluck his feathers, put him in the oven and bake him.”

problematic passive voice

Today’s bonus has yet another example: the indirect passive voice, which we call “the problematic passive”. A direct passive voice has no easy equivalent in English; however, it has a similar meaning to the colloquial form “get up and do something to me” (see example below). We use it to indicate that an (often negative) influence has had some effect on the (usually human) subject. This passive form is often called “the problematic passive” (meiwaku no ukemi) because we often use this form when the speaker shows empathy for something that happened to the subject that is out of their control.

Bonus Example:

1. (Watashi wa, shichimenchoo ni) nigerareta.
   “The turkey got up and left me.”

More examples:

1. Boku wa, ame ni furarete, nurete shimatta.
   “It rained and I got wet.”
2. Densha no naka de, kodomo ni nakarete komatta.
   “On the train, I was worried because my children were crying.”
3. Kanojo wa, musuko ni iede sareta.
   “(Sorry) Your son left home.”