させられる・せられる (saserareru serareru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Ｔo Be Made To Do Something

The forms させられる and せられる (saserareru serareru) are translated I am made to do, I am forced to do.

The subject A of the sentence is forced, compelled by B to perform a certain action.

させられる and せられる represent 2 suffixes that create in Japanese the causative-passive form used in common language and which you can also read or hear on TV, e.g. in news reports.

In this post we will see how verbs are formed with させられる and せられる and the 2 main uses of the form through sentences of everyday use.

How to use させられる and せられる

The form we will study and review today is the causative-passive form from the Japanese term 使(し)役(えき)受(うけ)身(み) and as the term expresses it joins the suffixes of the causative form せる / させる with those of the passive form れる / られる.

Let us look at the form for Ichidan, Godan and irregular verbs individually.

⇨ I was forced to make a decision; I found myself in the situation of having to decide by the will and order of others

⇨ I really didn't feel like it, but I had to drink ...

For irregular verbs the forms are:

• する ⇨ させられる; 勉強する to study ⇨ 勉強させられる to be forced to study
• 来(く)る ⇨ 来(こ)させられる; 持(も)ってくる bring ⇨ 持(も)ってこさせられる to be forced to bring something by order of someone.

Let us first see a sentence that uses only the causative form: A makes B perform the action.

In the causative-passive form: B is forced, compelled by A to perform the action.

Action that the subject is forced to perform by someone else's order

The causative/passive form is generally used in negative circumstances for the subject who feels forced, compelled to perform the action against his or her own will and by order of someone else.

The subject inevitably carries out the requested action with a sense of discomfort that sometimes becomes disgust and sometimes the action involves a wrong and in extreme cases a real damage.

The adjective that well describes the feeling and the circumstance is 嫌(いや)な disagreeable, undesirable; 嫌(いや)な気(き)持(も)ち is an unpleasant feeling and combined with the copula 嫌(いや)だ I hate this, I don't want to.

⇨ I did not clean the room with pleasure and because I wanted to, I was forced to by my sister. A noun that we can add to describe many situations expressed by the causative-passive form is 強(きょう)制(せい) compulsion, coercion, and its adjective 強(きょう)制(せい)的(てき)な compulsory, forced.

Expressing feelings and thoughts that arise naturally

We have a let's say ‘positive’ use of the causative-passive form and it specifically concerns verbs relating to feelings and thoughts such as 考(かんが)える think, びっくりする to be astonished, 驚(おどろ)く to be surprised, amazed.

The form used with these verbs, indicates the fact that the thought, the feeling has arisen spontaneously, has come naturally.

• Example with the verb 感(かん)動(どう)する be moved, be touched:

• Let's use the verb 考(かんが)る think, reflect:

In translation, we often fail to render the causative-passive form and use the expressions that best suit our mother tongue.

We can literally translate: It was not content that made me think so much.

Other examples of させられる / せられる

Here is a sentence from a Japanese motivational blog:

In the sentence, the verb やる do was used in its causative-passive form やらされる which loses the final syllable being joined to the noun 仕(し)事(ごと).