Japanese Verbs -

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs -

Free Japanese Lessons: 30
By now, you might have noticed that there are some pairs of Japanese verbs which look similar, but have slightly
different meanings. These pair of verbs are called transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs or 他動詞 (tadoushi) are verbs indicating personal action of changing something. The focus is
on someone who did the action.

On the other hand, intransitive verbs or 自動詞 (jidoushi) are verbs indicating movement of something. The focus
is on the movement itself and it doesn't matter who did the movement.

Basically the sentence patterns of transitive and intransitive Japanese verbs look like the following...
Transitive verb:
Person は/が Object を Verb

Intransitive verb:
Noun が/は Verb

You can see from the sentence patterns that since an transitive verb is talking about action done by someone,
there is always a direct object to act upon. Therefore particle を (wo) is being used.

However this is not always the case. When you go to the next lesson, you will learn that there are times when
the particle が (ga) is being used for transitive verbs.

But for the time being, just know that most of the time particle を (wo) is being used.

As for intransitive verbs, since the focus is on the movement and not on the person who did the action, particle
が (ga) is normally used.

Examples of Transitive and Intransitive Japanese Verbs

Let's use some examples to show how both transitive and intransitive Japanese verbs are being used.

 たなかさんはタクシー を とめました。
tanaka san wa takushi- wo tomemashita
Meaning: Mr Tanaka stopped the taxi. 

タクシー が とまりました。
takushi- ga tomarimashita
Meaning: Taxi stopped.

In the above first example, you want to say that Mr Tanaka stopped the car (he made the change). Therefore the
transitive verb とめる (tomeru) is used.

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In the second example, you want to describe the movement of "taxi stopped", hence the intransitive verb とまる
(tomaru) is used.

The rest of the examples will be similar. The first one is the transitive verb and the second one is the intransitive
verb.

1. やまださんはドア を しめました。
yamada san wa doa wo shimemashita
Meaning: Mr Yamada closed the door. 

ドア が しまりました。
doa ga shimarimashita
Meaning: Door closed. 

2. たなかさんはまど を あけました。
tanaka san wa mado wo akemashita
Meaning: Mr Tanaka opened the window.

まど が あきました。
mado ga akimashita
Meaning: Window opened. 

3. せんせいはでんき を つけました。
sensei wa denki wo tsukemashita
Meaning: Teacher swithed on the light.

でんき が つきました。
denki ga tsukimashita
Meaning: Light switched on. 

4. はははテレビ を けしました。
haha wa terebi wo keshimashita
Meaning: My mother switched off the TV.

テレビ が きえました。
terebi ga kiemashita
Meaning: TV switched off. 

5. わたしはねこ を へやにいれました。
watashi wa neko wo heya ni iremashita
Meaning: I brought the cat into the room.

むし が へやにはいりました。
mushi ga heya ni hairimashita
Meaning: Insect came into the room. 

6. わたしはねこ を そとにだしました。
watashi wa neko wo soto ni dashimashita
Meaning: I put the cat outside the room.

むし が そとにでました。
mushi ga soto ni demashita
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 Meaning: Insect went outside the room.

7. はははおさら を ならべました。
haha wa osara wo narabemashita
Meaning: My mother laid the plates.

わたしはみせのまえにならびました。
watashi wa mise no mae ni narabimashita
Meaning: I went into the queue in front of the store. 

8. せんせいはじゅぎょう を はじめました。
sensei wa jugyou wo hajimemashita
Meaning: Teacher started the lesson.

じゅぎょう が はじまりました。
jugyou ga hajimarimashita
Meaning: Lesson started. 

Identify between Transitive and Intransitive Japanese

Verbs
Unfortunately there is no rule to differentiate between transitive and intransitive Japanese verbs. The best way is
to memorize by hard.

The more pairs of Japanese verbs you come across, the more you can tell which one belongs to which group.

Although it's not always the case, you can use the following general guidelines to tell the differences...

1. Most of the time transitive verbs end with an "eru" or "su" sound, like for example, あける (akeru) and
けす (kesu). 

2. Intransitive verbs oftenly end with an "aru" or "ku" sound. But sometimes they also end with an "eru"
sound. For example, とまる (tomaru), あく (aku) and でる (deru). 

However there are always exceptions in Japanese, so it's not always true for the above guidelines. Therefore
the best way is still to memorize them.

Below is the list of some commonly used pairs of transitive and intransitive Japanese verbs...
Kanji/
Verb Romaji Meaning
Hiragana
Trans. 止める/
1. tomeru to stop
他 とめる
Intrans. 止まる/
tomaru to be stopped
自 とまる
Trans. 閉める/
2. shimeru to close
他 しめる
Intrans. 閉まる/
shimaru to be closed
自 しまる
3. Trans. 開ける/ akeru to open
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 他 あける
Intrans. 開く/
aku to be opened
自 あく
Trans. 点ける/
4. tsukeru to switch on
他 つける
Intrans. 点く/
tsuku to be switched on
自 つく
Trans. 消す/
5. kesu to turn off
他 けす
Intrans. 消える/
kieru to be turned off
自 きえる
Trans. 入れる/
6. ireru to put in
他 いれる
Intrans. 入る/
hairu to enter
自 はいる
Trans. 出す/
7. dasu to take out
他 だす
Intrans. 出る/
deru to leave
自 でる
Trans. 並べる/
8. naraberu to arrange
他 ならべる
Intrans. 並ぶ/
narabu to queue
自 ならぶ
Trans. 始める/
9. hajimeru to start
他 はじめる
Intrans. 始まる/
hajimaru to be started
自 はじまる
Trans. 落とす/
10. otosu to drop
他 おとす
Intrans. 落ちる/
ochiru to fall
自 おちる
Trans. 動かす/
11. ugokasu to move
他 うごかす
Intrans. 動く/
ugoku to be moved
自 うごく
Trans. 増やす/
12. fuyasu to increase
他 ふやす
Intrans. 増える/
fueru to be increased
自 ふえる

Japanese Verbs on State Continuation

with Transitive and Intransitive Verbs -
Free Japanese Lessosns: 31
In the previous 2 lessons, you have learned the Japanese verbs on state continuation using て-form + います
(te-form + imasu) and transitive & intransitive verbs.

In this lesson we'll look into combining the two to express the resulting state further.

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You know that the 4th function of て-form + います (te-form + imasu) is state continuation. It is defined as a
certain continuing state which resulted from a certain action in the past.

You can actually use a transitive verb to emphasize that the resulting state is the result of action done by
someone.

On the other hand, an intransitive verb is used to emphasize the resulting state, ignoring who did the action.

Sentence Patterns
Let's look at the sentence patterns of Japanese verbs state continuation with transitive and intransitive verbs...
Transitive verb (て-form) あります

Intransitive verb (て-form) います

An Example of Japanese Verb Transitive/Intransitive Pair

To understand the sentence patterns, let's use a simple example. A window in the room is opened currently. Mr
Tanaka then closed the window and the window remained closed.

When the window is closed by Mr Tanaka, you can say たなかさんはまどをしめました (tanaka san wa mado
wo shimemashita).

To describe the resulting state where the window has been closed by someone (Mr Tanaka) and still remain
closed, you will say...

 まど が しめてあります。
mado ga shimete arimasu
Meaning: The window has been closed (by someone).

In another situation, the wind is so strong that it forces an window in the room to close naturally.

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In this case, you can say まどがしまりました (mado ga shimarimashita). To describe this resulting state where
the window was closed and remain closed, you will say...

 まど が しまっています。
mado ga shimatte imasu
Meaning: The window was closed.

In both the above examples, the resulting states are the same - the windows remain closed. However you will
use either of them depending on what you want to describe.

If you want to emphasize on the fact that someone has closed the window in the past and it still remain closed,
use Transitive verb (て-form) あります.

If you don't care who closed the window and just want to describe the fact that the window was closed and it still
remain closed, use Intransitive verb (て-form) います.

Note that since you are making a description, the particle used is が (ga) instead of を (wo) for the case of
Transitive verb (て-form) あります. Therefore it is wrong to say まど を しめてあります (mado wo shimete
arimasu).

More Examples of Japanese Verbs Transitive/Intransitive

Pairs
Let's use some of the Japanese verbs transitive/intransitive pairs you learned in lesson 30 for more examples.

1. ならべる (naraberu) / ならぶ (narabu)

 おさら が ならべてあります。
osara ga narabete arimasu
Meaning: Plates have been arranged by someone / Someone arranged the plates.

 ひと が ならんでいます。
hito ga narande imasu
Meaning: People are queuing.

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2. けす (kesu) / きえる (kieru)

 でんき が けしてあります。
denki ga keshite arimasu
Meaning: Light has been switched off (by someone).

 でんき が きえています。
denki ga kiete imasu
Meaning: Light was switched off.

3. つける (tsukeru) / つく (tsuku)

 でんき が つけてあります。
denki ga tsukete arimasu
Meaning: Light has been switched on (by someone).

 でんき が ついています。
denki ga tsuite imasu
Meaning: Light was switched on.

4. とめる (tomeru) / とまる (tomaru)

 くるま が とめてあります。
kuruma ga tomete arimasu
Meaning: The car has been stopped (by someone).

 くるま が とまっています。
kuruma ga tomatte imasu
Meaning: The car was stopped.

5. あける (akeru) / あく (aku)

 ドア が あけてあります。
doa ga akete arimasu
Meaning: The door has been opened (by someone).

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  ドア が あいています。
doa ga aite imasu
Meaning: The door was opened.

In conclusion, you can use both Transitive verb (て-form) あります and Intransitive verb (て-form) います to
describe the remained state of the same situation.

If you want to emphasize on the person who made the situation, use Transitive verb (て-form) あります. If you
just want to describe the situation, use Intransitive verb (て-form) います.