I saw a post recently on X about transitive and intransitive verbs in Japanese.
It seems that this stumps a lot of English speakers at first.
So what are they?
In short:
- a transitive verb is an action done by someone to something.
- an intransitive verb is an action that just happens on its own.
The key is figuring out who or what is doing the action.
Let me explain.
Table of Contents:
What are transitive verbs (他動詞)?
A transitive verb, or tadoushi (他動詞) in Japanese, needs a direct object.
Think of it this way: a subject performs an action, and that action is transferred to something or someone else.
You can’t just “open” - you have to open something.
You can’t just “eat” - you have to eat something.
That something is the direct object.
In Japanese, the direct object is marked with the particle を (o).
So the pattern is: Subject + は/が (wa/ga) + Object + を (o) + Transitive Verb.
Here are a couple of examples:
私は窓を開けます。
Here, “I” (私) am the one doing the action.
The action is “to open” (開けます), and it’s being done to the “window” (窓).
The window is receiving the action, so we use the transitive verb and mark the window with を (o).
田中さんは電気を消しました。
Tanaka-san performed the action “to turn off” (消しました) on the “lights” (電気).
What are intransitive verbs (自動詞)?
An intransitive verb, or jidoushi (自動詞), describes something that happens without a direct object.
The action stays with the subject.
Think of it as a state of being or a change that happens automatically.
The window doesn’t open something else; it just opens. The lights don’t turn off something else; they just turn off.
With intransitive verbs, the thing that is changing is the subject, and it’s usually marked with the particle が (ga).
The pattern is: Subject + が (ga) + Intransitive Verb.
Let’s look at the intransitive versions of our last examples.
窓が開きます。
See the difference?
Nobody is opening the window.
The window is just opening on its own. The window itself is the subject, so we mark it with が (ga) and use the intransitive verb.
電気が消えました。
The lights turned off by themselves. Maybe there was a power outage. The point is, no one actively turned them off in this sentence.
Comparing common verb pairs
The trickiest part of this for learners is that many Japanese verbs come in transitive/intransitive pairs.
They sound similar but have different endings.
Memorizing these pairs is a huge step forward. Don’t try to learn them all at once.
Instead, learn them as “chunks” when you encounter them.
Here’s a table of some common pairs to get you started:
Meaning | Transitive (someone does it) | Intransitive (it happens) |
---|---|---|
To open | 開ける (akeru) | 開く (aku) |
To close | 閉める (shimeru) | 閉まる (shimaru) |
To turn on | つける (tsukeru) | つく (tsuku) |
To turn off | 消す (kesu) | 消える (kieru) |
To start | 始める (hajimeru) | 始まる (hajimaru) |
To finish | 終える (oeru) | 終わる (owaru) |
To put in | 入れる (ireru) | 入る (hairu) |
To take out | 出す (dasu) | 出る (deru) |
To drop | 落とす (otosu) | 落ちる (ochiru) |
Let’s see one of these pairs in action.
私は映画を始めました。
映画が始まりました。
In the first sentence, “I” am the agent performing the action on the movie (the object), so we use the transitive 始める (hajimeru) with the particle を (o).
In the second sentence, the movie is the subject and it’s starting on its own.
There’s no external agent.
So, we use the intransitive 始まる (hajimaru) with the particle が (ga).
A simple trick to remember the difference
If you’re ever stuck, just ask yourself this one question:
Is someone doing the action to something else?
- YES? -> You need a transitive verb and the particle を (o) to mark the object.
- NO? (It’s just happening on its own) -> You need an intransitive verb and the particle が (ga) to mark the subject.
This simple check will get you the right answer most of the time.
Like anything in Japanese, it just takes practice.
The more you read and listen to Japanese, the more natural it will feel to pick the right verb without even thinking about it.
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