Causative Form: Making and Letting Someone Do
Quick Answer: Group 1: change u→a + せる (読む→読ませる). Group 2: drop る→させる (食べる→食べさせる). Irregular: する→させる, 来る→来させる. Can mean 'make someone do' (compulsion) or 'let someone do' (permission), distinguished by context.
Expressing permission and compulsion
Category: Verb Forms
The Rule
Group 1: change u→a + せる (読む→読ませる). Group 2: drop る→させる (食べる→食べさせる). Irregular: する→させる, 来る→来させる. Can mean 'make someone do' (compulsion) or 'let someone do' (permission), distinguished by context.
Why This Matters
English clearly separates 'make' (force) from 'let' (allow), but Japanese uses the same causative form for both. Context, tone, and additional patterns (〜させてください = 'please let me') determine which meaning applies. The causative-passive (させられる) means 'was made to do' — double conjugation.
Examples
• 母は子供に野菜を食べさせました。 — "The mother made the child eat vegetables." [Compulsion: forced to eat] • 先生は学生を帰らせました。 — "The teacher let the students go home." [Permission: allowed to leave] • やらせてください。 — "Please let me do it." [〜させてください = humble request for permission] • 三時間も待たされた。 — "I was made to wait for three hours." [Causative-passive: 待つ→待たせる→待たされる]
Common Mistakes
❌ 食べるさせる ✅ 食べさせる → Group 2: drop る before adding させる. Don't keep the る ❌ 子供が野菜を食べさせました。 ✅ 子供に野菜を食べさせました。 → The person made/let to do something is marked with に (or を for intransitive verbs), not が. が marks the causer
Quick Tip
させてください is one of the most useful causative patterns — it's a polite way to volunteer or request permission. 'Let me introduce myself' = 自己紹介させてください.
させてください is one of the most useful causative patterns — it's a polite way to volunteer or request permission. 'Let me introduce myself' = 自己紹介させてください.
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: 食べるさせる → Correct: 食べさせる. Group 2: drop る before adding させる. Don't keep the る
Incorrect: 子供が野菜を食べさせました。 → Correct: 子供に野菜を食べさせました。. The person made/let to do something is marked with に (or を for intransitive verbs), not が. が marks the causer
Quiz
How do you say 'I was made to sing' (causative-passive of 歌う)?