Chapter 5 — The Causative-Passive Form

The causative-passive is the longest and most complex verb form in Japanese. It combines two layers of meaning: causation ("someone made me do it") and passivization ("I was subjected to it"). The result expresses that the speaker was made to do something, typically against their will or at least without having chosen it. This form appears naturally in stories about childhood, school, military service, and the workplace — any context where someone was compelled to do something by a person with authority over them.

If you understand the causative (Chapter 4) and the passive (Chapter 3) individually, the causative-passive is their logical combination. The formation is mechanical, and the meaning is predictable. The only complication is a contracted form that exists for 五段 verbs, which you will encounter frequently in speech.

5.1 Formation of the Causative-Passive Form

The causative-passive is formed by taking the causative form and making it passive. Since all causative verbs conjugate as 一段, the passive is formed by dropping る and adding られる.

Full Form

These forms are long — 書かせられる is five morae — but they are entirely regular. If you can form the causative, you can form the causative-passive by treating the causative as a 一段 verb and adding the passive suffix.

Contracted Form (五段 verbs only)

For 五段 verbs, a shorter form exists that is widely used in spoken Japanese. Instead of the full ～あせられる, the contracted form uses ～あされる.

The pattern is consistent: where the full form has ～せられる, the contracted form has ～される. The あ-row vowel before it remains the same.

This contraction is only available for 五段 verbs, with one restriction: 五段 verbs ending in す (話す, 出す, 返す, etc.) resist the contraction because it produces an unnatural double さ sound. 話させられる does not contract to 話さされる — use the full form instead.

一段 verbs (食べさせられる) and irregular verbs (させられる, 来させられる) also do not have contracted forms. 食べさされる does not exist.

Both the full and contracted forms are standard Japanese. The contracted form is more common in casual speech; the full form appears more often in formal writing. Both are correct, and you need to recognize both.

Causative-Passive Verbs Conjugate as 一段

Like all derived verb forms, the causative-passive conjugates as 一段.

5.2 "Was Made to Do" — Combining Causation and Suffering

The causative-passive always carries an adversative nuance. The subject was made to do something, and the implication is that this was unpleasant, unwelcome, or at least unchosen. The person who compelled the action is marked with に.

母に　やさいを　食べさせられた。 "I was made to eat vegetables by my mother."

先生に　さくぶんを　書かせられた。 "I was made to write an essay by the teacher."

部長に　ざんぎょうさせられた。 "I was made to work overtime by the department head."

コーチに　毎日　十キロ　走らされた。（contracted） "I was made to run ten kilometers every day by the coach."

子どもの　とき、ピアノを　ならわされた。（contracted） "When I was a child, I was made to learn piano."

The subject of the causative-passive is always the person who was compelled — the sufferer. They did not choose the action; someone with authority made them do it. This is why the form appears so naturally in stories about childhood (parents making children do things), school (teachers assigning tasks), and the workplace (bosses giving orders).

Compare the active causative with the causative-passive:

Active causative (from the authority's perspective):

母は　子どもに　やさいを　食べさせた。 "The mother made the child eat vegetables."

Causative-passive (from the child's perspective):

子どもは　母に　やさいを　食べさせられた。 "The child was made to eat vegetables by the mother."

The information is the same. The difference is perspective. The causative-passive tells the story from the point of view of the person who was compelled, which naturally invites sympathy and implies that the experience was not pleasant.

5.3 Full vs Contracted Forms — Both Are Standard

The choice between the full form and the contracted form is primarily a matter of formality and personal preference.

Full form (書かせられる):

• More formal
• More common in writing
• Used for all verb classes (五段, 一段, irregular)
• Sometimes sounds stiff in casual conversation

Contracted form (書かされる):

• More casual
• More common in speech
• Available only for 五段 verbs
• Sounds more natural in storytelling and conversation

In practice, many speakers mix the two without thinking about it. When reading, you need to be able to parse both. When you see a form like 飲まされた, recognize it as the contracted causative-passive of 飲む: "was made to drink."

A note on parsing: the contracted form can look similar to the regular passive at first glance. 書かされる (causative-passive, contracted) and 書かれる (passive) differ only by one syllable (さ). Pay attention to the さ — it marks the causative component. If you see ～あされる, you are looking at a contracted causative-passive. If you see ～あれる, it is a plain passive.

5.4 Extended Examples

The following examples show the causative-passive in natural contexts, using both full and contracted forms.

Childhood memories:

子どもの　とき、毎日　にゅうを　飲まされた。 "When I was a child, I was made to drink milk every day."

小学校で　きらいな　きゅうしょくを　ぜんぶ　食べさせられた。 "In elementary school, I was made to eat all of the school lunch I didn't like."

弟は　にいさんに　いつも　へやの　そうじを　させられていた。（おとうと、にいさん） "My younger brother was always made to clean the room by our older brother."

School and studying:

高校で　むずかしい　すうがくの　もんだいを　たくさん　とかされた。 "In high school, I was made to solve many difficult math problems."

テストの　前に、先生に　何度も　ふくしゅうさせられた。 "Before the exam, the teacher made me review many times."

Workplace:

入社した　ばかりの　とき、毎日　コピーを　とらされた。 "Right after joining the company, I was made to make copies every day."

きのう　急に　しゅっちょうに　行かされた。（しゅっちょう） "Yesterday, I was suddenly made to go on a business trip."

ぶちょうに　三時間も　待たされた。 "I was made to wait for three whole hours by the section chief."

General situations:

びょういんで　長い　あいだ　待たされた。 "I was made to wait for a long time at the hospital."

パーティーで　しらない　うたを　歌わされた。（うたわされた） "At the party, I was made to sing a song I didn't know."

友達の　ひっこしを　手伝わされた。 "I was made to help with my friend's move."

5.5 Recognition Notes

The causative-passive is the longest standard verb form in Japanese, and its length makes it recognizable. When you encounter a verb form with four or more syllables after the stem, consider whether you are looking at a causative-passive.

Key recognition patterns:

• Full form (五段): ～あせられる (書かせられる, 飲ませられる, 走らせられる)
• Contracted form (五段): ～あされる (書かされる, 飲まされる, 走らされる)
• 一段: ～させられる (食べさせられる, 見させられる)
• する: させられる
• くる: 来させられる（こさせられる）

When parsing, work from the inside out:

1. Identify the base verb: 飲む
2. Recognize the causative layer: 飲ませる (someone makes someone drink)
3. Recognize the passive layer: 飲ませられる / 飲まされる (someone was made to drink)

The subject of the causative-passive sentence is always the person who was compelled. The person who did the compelling is marked with に.

わたしは　母に　くすりを　飲まされた。 Subject (sufferer): わたし / Compeller: 母 / Action: くすりを飲む

The adversative nuance is inherent. Unlike the regular passive, which can be neutral, the causative-passive almost always implies that the experience was unwelcome or unchosen. This makes it a natural fit for complaints, sympathetic stories, and humorous anecdotes about being put upon.

5.6 Reading Passage

わたしの　子どもの　ころの　思い出を　話します。

わたしは　小学生の　とき、母に　毎朝　六時に　起きさせられました。そして、朝ごはんの　前に　三十分　ピアノを　ひかされました。ピアノは　あまり　すきではなかったので、とても　いやでした。

学校では、きゅうしょくが　ありました。わたしは　にんじんが　きらいでしたが、ぜんぶ　食べさせられました。「のこしては　いけません」と　先生に　言われて、泣きながら　食べた　ことも　あります。

高校に　入ってから、父に　毎日　えいごの　しんぶんを　読まされました。父は　「将来　やくに　立つ」と　言っていましたが、わたしは　むずかしくて　いやでした。

でも、今　思うと、ピアノを　ならわされた　おかげで、今でも　すこし　弾けます。えいごの　しんぶんを　読まされた　おかげで、大学の　えいごの　じゅぎょうは　あまり　むずかしくありませんでした。子どもの　ときは　いやだと　思っていましたが、今は　りょうしんに　かんしゃしています。

Translation:

I will talk about my childhood memories.

When I was in elementary school, my mother made me get up at six every morning. And before breakfast, I was made to practice piano for thirty minutes. I did not like piano very much, so it was really unpleasant.

At school, there was school lunch. I hated carrots, but I was made to eat everything. "You must not leave anything behind," the teacher would say, and there were times I ate while crying.

After starting high school, my father made me read an English newspaper every day. My father said "it will be useful in the future," but I found it difficult and unpleasant.

However, thinking about it now, thanks to being made to learn piano, I can still play a little. Thanks to being made to read English newspapers, my English classes in university were not very difficult. At the time I thought it was unpleasant, but now I am grateful to my parents.

Reading Passage 2 — むかしの　学校の　きまり

Read the following passage about memories of strict school rules and the things students were made to do.

わたしの　母は　よく　むかしの　学校の　話を　します。母の　中学校は　とても　きまりが　きびしかったそうです。

まず、かみの　けの　きまりが　ありました。おんなの　子は　かみを　短く　切らされたそうです。長い　かみは　ゆるされませんでした。男の　子も、前がみが　まゆげより　長いと、切らされました。

ふくそうの　きまりも　きびしかったそうです。冬でも　コートを　着る　ことが　できませんでした。さむくても、せいふくだけで　学校に　来させられました。くつ下の　いろまで　決められていて、白い　くつ下しか　はかされませんでした。

べんきょうの　ことでも、きびしく　させられました。テストの　点が　わるいと、放課後に　のこされて、何度も　同じ　問題を　とかされました。宿題を　わすれると、ろうかに　立たされることも　あったそうです。

母は　「いやだったけど、おかげで　がまんづよく　なれた」と　言っています。でも、「自分の　子どもには　あんな　きまりは　ない　ほうが　いい」とも　言っています。

Translation

My mother often talks about school in the old days. She says her middle school had very strict rules.

First, there were rules about hair. Girl students were apparently made to cut their hair short. Long hair was not allowed. Boys, too, if their bangs were longer than their eyebrows, were made to cut them.

Clothing rules were also strict, she says. Even in winter, they could not wear coats. Even when it was cold, they were made to come to school in just their uniforms. Even the color of socks was decided for them, and they were only made to wear white socks.

They were also strictly made to do things regarding studying. If their test scores were bad, they were kept after school and made to solve the same problems many times. If they forgot their homework, they were apparently sometimes made to stand in the hallway.

My mother says, "I hated it, but thanks to that, I became perseverant." But she also says, "For my own children, it's better without those kinds of rules."

Notes on the passage

きまり（決まり）— "rule, regulation."

かみの　け（髪の毛）— "hair (on the head)."

まゆげ（眉毛）— "eyebrows." 前がみ（前髪）means "bangs."

ふくそう（服装）— "clothing, dress code." せいふく（制服）means "school uniform."

放課後（ほうかご）— "after school."

ろうか（廊下）— "hallway." Being made to stand in the hallway was a common punishment in older Japanese schools.

がまんづよい（我慢強い）— "perseverant, patient." がまん means "endurance."

5.7 Vocabulary List