Passive in Keigo
Passive forms (られる/れる) in Japanese serve double duty as both passive voice and honorific language (尊敬語 - sonkeigo). When used as keigo, passive forms show respect to the subject of the sentence without implying adversity.
先生が来られました
Can mean:
1. "Teacher came" (honorific)
2. "Was come to by teacher" (passive - rare)
Context determines
Usually honorific meaning
Respectful language
Honorific Function
Showing respect
社長が言われました
"President said" (respectful)
Not: "Was said by president"
But: Honoring president's speech
Passive form = respect marker
お客様が召し上がられる
"Customer will eat" (very respectful)
Passive adds respect
Standard keigo usage
Formation Same as Passive
Identical conjugation
る-verbs: られる
来る → 来られる
食べる → 食べられる
う-verbs: れる
話す → 話される
書く → 書かれる
行く → 行かれる
Same forms as passive
Context shows meaning
Usually honorific in keigo context
Common in Business
Professional settings
部長が出張に行かれます
"Department head will go on business trip"
社長がおっしゃられました
"President said" (respectful)
お客様が到着されました
"Customer has arrived"
Business standard
Showing respect
Professional language
With Respect Verbs
Special honorific verbs
いらっしゃる (来る honorific)
おっしゃる (言う honorific)
召し上がる (食べる honorific)
ご覧になる (見る honorific)
These already honorific
Adding られる = extra respect
Sometimes considered redundant
But used for maximum politeness
おっしゃられる (double honorific)
"Say" (very respectful, though criticized by purists)
Not Always Appropriate
Over-politeness
❌ 先生が食べられました
Can sound odd (honorific + passive)
Better: 先生は召し上がりました
"Teacher ate" (proper honorific verb)
❌ 社長が来られました
Acceptable, but some prefer いらっしゃいました
Choose proper honorific verbs when available
Passive-honorific as backup
Context determines best choice
With ください
Polite requests
こちらにお座りください
"Please sit here" (polite)
お書きになってください
"Please write" (honorific)
Passive form less common in requests
Use お〜になる pattern instead
More natural keigo
Distinguishing from True Passive
Context is key
Honorific (respectful):
先生が来られました
"Teacher came"
Subject is respected person
True passive (adversity):
雨に降られました
"Was rained on"
Subject is affected person
社長が決められました
"President decided" (honorific)
vs
会社に決められました
"Was decided by company" (passive)
Particles help
Respected person marked by が
Agent in passive marked by に
Formality Levels
Honorific passive = formal
Very formal:
社長が来られました
Standard polite:
社長が来ました
Casual:
社長が来た
Passive-honorific = high formality
Business, customer service
Official situations
Customer Service
Standard usage
お客様が注文されました
"Customer ordered"
どちらに行かれますか
"Where will you go?" (to customer)
何を召し上がられますか
"What will you eat?" (to customer)
Service industry standard
Showing maximum respect
Expected language
Medical Settings
Doctor to patient
いつから痛まれていますか
"Since when has it been hurting?" (respectful)
薬は飲まれましたか
"Did you take medicine?" (respectful)
Respecting patient
Professional courtesy
Medical keigo
With Humble Forms
Mixing speech levels
私が説明いたします。社長が確認されます。
"I will explain. President will confirm."
Humble for self (いたします)
Honorific for superior (されます)
Mixed appropriately
Shows relative status
Natural keigo
Regional Variations
Kansai dialect
Kansai: はる (similar function)
先生が来はった
"Teacher came" (respectful)
Different from standard られる
Regional respect marker
Same concept
Potential Confusion
られる three meanings
食べられる can mean:
1. Potential: "can eat"
彼は魚が食べられる
"He can eat fish"
2. Passive: "be eaten"
魚が猫に食べられた
"Fish was eaten by cat"
3. Honorific: "eat (respectful)"
先生が食べられました
"Teacher ate"
Context essential
Particles help distinguish
Common source of confusion
Modern Trends
Simplification
Some argue られる overused
Prefer pure honorific verbs:
来られる → いらっしゃる
言われる → おっしゃる
する → なさる
Purists prefer special verbs
But られる still widespread
Both acceptable
In Questions
Polite inquiries
どちらに住まれていますか
"Where do you live?" (respectful)
何時に起きられますか
"What time do you wake up?" (respectful)
Respectful questions
Business acquaintances
Formal situations
Email and Writing
Formal correspondence
ご確認いただけますでしょうか
"Could you please confirm?"
先日お会いしましたが、覚えていらっしゃいますか
"We met the other day, do you remember?"
Written keigo
Business emails
Formal letters
Teaching Keigo
Learning progression
1. Basic polite (です/ます)
2. Humble forms (いたす, おる)
3. Honorific verbs (いらっしゃる, おっしゃる)
4. Passive-honorific (られる/れる)
Learn in stages
Build complexity
Master gradually
Common Mistakes
❌ Using for yourself
✗ 私が行かれます
✓ Use humble or neutral
✓ 私が参ります (humble)
✓ 私が行きます (neutral)
❌ Overusing double honorifics
✗ おっしゃられられる (triple!)
✓ One level enough
✓ おっしゃる or おっしゃいます
❌ With inappropriate subjects
✗ 子供が来られました (unless very formal context)
✓ Match respect to person
✓ For respected people only
Respect only for others
Not for yourself
Choose appropriate level
Practical Examples
Business situations
部長はもう出かけられました
"Department head has already left"
社長がこちらにいらっしゃいます
"President is coming here"
お客様が何かおっしゃいましたか
"Did customer say something?"
先生はどう思われますか
"What do you think, teacher?"
お名前を書かれてください
"Please write your name" (very polite)
明日何時に来られますか
"What time will you come tomorrow?" (respectful)
Business communication
Customer service
Professional respect
Showing deference
Formal situations
Standard keigo usage
Workplace necessity
Cultural expectation