Passive

Idea:

X - the experience Y - the doer A - the action

X wa Y ni A

Example

Watashi wa hachi(bee) ni sasareta(sasu - to sting)

picaso ni kisu-sareta (direct passive: kissed by picaso)

Non-passive (check later)

Hachi wa watashi o sashita?

Conjugation rules

Group (1)

kaku -> kakareru kau -> kawareru hanasu -> hanasareru matsu -> matareru

Group (2)

miru -> mirareru (mireru) taberu -> taberareru

Group (3) - irregular

suru - sareru kuru - korareru

ex. 夫に死なれた女性は未亡人と呼ばれる。 Otto ni shinareta josei wa miboujin to yobareru. A woman whose husband has died is called a widow.

In the example above, there are two verbs in the passive form: 呼ばれる and 死なれる. 呼ばれる is used in the direct passive sense (i.e., there is no indication of something unfortunate). The use of the passive form "shinareta" 死なれた indicates that the action of the husband dying affected the woman in some way. Contrast this with a sentence using the active form instead:

夫が死んだ女性は未亡人と呼ばれる。 Otto ga shinda josei wa miboujin to yobareru.