Using the passive

1. Vocabulary List

2. Grammar & Sentences

Passive Form — られる / われる

The passive expresses that something is done or was done — focus is on the object, not the doer.

u-verb (Group 1): change final う-sound to あ-sound + れる

ru-verb (Group 2): replace る with られる

Key sentences:

• 絵文字は日本で作られました。(Emoji wa Nihon de tsukuraremashita.) — Emoji were made in Japan.
• 日本の家はよく木で作られます。(Nihon no ie wa yoku ki de tsukuraremasusu.) — Japanese houses are often made with wood.
• 一番古いまんがには動物がかかれました。(Ichiban furui manga ni wa doubutsu ga kakaremashita.) — Animals are drawn in the oldest manga.
• このお寺は1400年くらいに京都にたてられました。(Kono otera wa sen-yonhyaku-nen kurai ni Kyouto ni tateraremashita.) — This temple was built in Kyoto around 1400.
• 東京タワーは1958年に建てられました。赤と白が使われました。(Toukyou Tawaa wa sen-kyuuhyaku-gojuuhachi-nen ni tateraremashita. Aka to shiro ga tsukawaremashita.) — Tokyo Tower was built in 1958. Red and white colours were used.
• 天ぷらはよく日本で食べられていますが、ポルトガルからきました。(Tenpura wa yoku Nihon de taberareteimasu ga, Porutogaru kara kimashita.) — Tempura is often eaten in Japan, but it came from Portugal.

くらい / ぐらい — Approximate Dates

Use くらい or ぐらい after a year or time expression to mean "around" or "approximately."

• 1200年くらい (sen-nihyaku-nen kurai) — around 1200
• 一番古いまんがは1200年くらいにかかれました。(Ichiban furui manga wa sen-nihyaku-nen kurai ni kakaremashita.) — The oldest manga was written around 1200.

お寺 vocabulary in context

• 古いお寺（てら）があります。(Furui otera ga arimasu.) — There is an old Buddhist temple.
• 京都はおてらが多いです。(Kyouto wa otera ga ooi desu.) — There are many temples in Kyoto.
• お寺（てら）を建（た）てました。(Otera wo tatemashita.) — I built a Buddhist temple.

3. Learning Context

• Passive structure: [Object] は/が [place] で [passive verb] — the agent (doer) is often omitted entirely.
• u-verb passive pattern: final kana shifts to its あ-row equivalent before れる — 書く (ku) → 書か (ka) + れる = 書かれる. Exception: 使う → 使わ + れる = 使われる (not 使あれる).
• くらい vs ぐらい: Both mean "approximately" for dates. They are freely interchangeable — choose whichever flows naturally.
• Tempura origin: A cultural note from the lesson — tempura came from Portugal (16th century), not Japan, despite being a staple of Japanese cuisine. This illustrates the passive: 天ぷらはポルトガルからきました.
• Emoji origin: 絵文字 were invented in Japan (late 1990s) — another passive-form cultural fact used in exercises.

4. Progress Tracker