Causative-Passive 〜させられる: Forced To | Japanese Grammar

Japanese has a single verb form that means "I was made to do it, and I didn't want to." It is called the causative-passive (使役受身, しえきうけみ), and it is built exactly the way its name promises: you take the causative ("cause to do") and then make that passive ("be caused to do"). The result, 〜させられる, describes the world from the point of view of the person on the receiving end of coercion — the unwilling doer. English needs a whole phrase for this ("was made to," "got forced to," "had to against my will"); Japanese folds it into one conjugated verb, and folds in the resentment for free.

This page assumes you know the plain causative (食べる → 食べさせる). If not, read the causative overview first.

Formation: causative, then passive

The recipe is literally two steps stacked. Build the causative; then passivize it. Because every causative ends in せる／させる and conjugates like an ichidan verb, passivizing it is trivial — replace the final る with られる.

Verb	Step 1 — causative	Step 2 — + passive られる
食べる (eat)	食べさせる	食べさせられる
覚える (memorize)	覚えさせる	覚えさせられる
書く (write)	書かせる	書かせられる
飲む (drink)	飲ませる	飲ませられる
習う (learn)	習わせる	習わせられる
する (do)	させる	させられる
来る (come)	来（こ）させる	来させられる

Read the pattern off the two verb classes: ichidan verbs and する end up in 〜させられる (食べさせられる, させられる), while godan verbs end up in 〜せられる (書かせられる, 飲ませられる). Hold that godan 〜せられる in mind — in real speech it usually contracts to a shorter 〜される (書かされる, 飲まされる), which is important enough to get its own page.

Who is who: the subject is the victim, the forcer takes に

This is the part that trips English speakers, because the causative-passive reshuffles the cast. The grammatical subject — the topic, usually marked は — is the one who was compelled. The person who did the compelling is demoted to a に phrase, the same に that marks the agent in an ordinary passive.

子供の時、母にピアノを習わせられた。

kodomo no toki, haha ni piano o narawaserareta

When I was a child, I was made to learn piano by my mother.

The unspoken subject is "I" (the victim); 母に is the forcer; ピアノを is the thing learned. Contrast this with the plain causative from the mother's side — 母は私にピアノを習わせた ("Mom made me learn piano") — where she is the subject. Same event, opposite viewpoint. The causative-passive is the grammar you reach for to tell the story as the person it was done to.

新入社員の頃、毎晩上司に残業させられた。

shinnyū-shain no koro, maiban jōshi ni zangyō saserareta

Back when I was a new hire, my boss made me work overtime every night.

子供の頃、嫌いな野菜を母に食べさせられた。

kodomo no koro, kirai na yasai o haha ni tabesaserareta

As a kid, I was made by my mom to eat vegetables I hated.

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Track the case frame: [victim] は [forcer] に [object] を [verb]させられる. The に-marked person is the one applying the pressure; the topic is the one buckling under it. If you find yourself wanting to put the forcer as the subject, you want the plain causative, not the causative-passive.

The built-in meaning: reluctance, imposition, "I didn't want to but had to"

Here is what separates 〜させられる from a neutral "had to." The causative-passive does not merely report that an action was compelled; it editorializes the speaker's unwillingness. It is the grammatical home of grudging compliance. Compare:

野菜を食べなければならなかった — "I had to eat the vegetables." (Neutral obligation; maybe I agreed it was sensible.)
野菜を食べさせられた — "I was made to eat the vegetables." (I resented it; someone imposed it on me.)

Because the reluctance is baked in, the form pairs almost reflexively with the adverb 無理やり (むりやり, "forcibly, against one's will"):

飲みたくなかったのに、無理やりお酒を飲まされた。

nomitakunakatta noni, muriyari o-sake o nomasareta

I didn't want to drink, but they forced booze on me.

興味もないのに、無理やり手伝わせられた。

kyōmi mo nai noni, muriyari tetsudawaserareta

I wasn't even interested, but I got roped into helping.

(飲まされた in the first example is the contracted godan form of 飲ませられた — natural, spoken, and covered on the contraction page.)

The nuance is strong enough that verbs of pure endurance take on an idiomatic sting in this form. 待たせられる／待たされる is not just "was caused to wait" but "was kept waiting" — with the frustration attached:

レストランで一時間も待たされて、さすがに腹が立った。

resutoran de ichi-jikan mo matasarete, sasuga ni hara ga tatta

They kept me waiting a whole hour at the restaurant — I finally got angry.

💡

English "had to" is register-neutral: "I had to wait" says nothing about my feelings. Japanese 〜させられる is never neutral — it always tilts toward "and I resented it." So do not use it for obligations you accept willingly. "I had to study for the exam" (your own choice) is 勉強しなければならなかった, not 勉強させられた — the latter blames someone for forcing you.

Emotion verbs are the exception: させられる can mean "was moved to"

There is one systematic non-coercive use. With verbs of thought and feeling — 考える (think), 感動する (be moved), びっくりする (be startled) — the causative-passive loses the reluctance and means "was caused to feel/think," i.e. something prompted a genuine internal reaction:

彼の言葉には、いろいろと考えさせられた。

kare no kotoba ni wa, iroiro to kangaesaserareta

His words really made me think.

Here nothing coerces you; the stimulus spontaneously provokes the reaction. This 考えさせられる ("it made me think / it was thought-provoking") is a fixed, admiring expression — the opposite of resentment. The rule of thumb: with action verbs, 〜させられる = grudging compliance; with cognition/emotion verbs, 〜させられる = "was moved to / prompted to."

Common mistakes

❌ 母は私にピアノを習わせられた。

haha wa watashi ni piano o narawaserareta

Wrong viewpoint — this says the mother was the victim forced by 'me'. The causative-passive subject is the compelled one, so the child must be the topic.

✅ 私は母にピアノを習わせられた。

watashi wa haha ni piano o narawaserareta

I was made by my mother to learn piano.

❌ 上司が私を残業させられた。

jōshi ga watashi o zangyō saserareta

Reversed roles — the forcer (上司) cannot be the subject of させられる, and the victim takes は/が, not を.

✅ 私は上司に残業させられた。

watashi wa jōshi ni zangyō saserareta

I was made to work overtime by my boss.

❌ 試験のために勉強させられた。

shiken no tame ni benkyō saserareta

Wrong nuance if you chose to study — させられた blames someone for forcing you. For self-imposed duty, use なければならない.

✅ 試験のために勉強しなければならなかった。

shiken no tame ni benkyō shinakereba naranakatta

I had to study for the exam.

❌ 子供の時、母にピアノを習わさせられた。

kodomo no toki, haha ni piano o narawasaserareta

Over-conjugated — 習う → 習わせる (causative), then + られる = 習わせられる. There is no extra さ.

✅ 子供の時、母にピアノを習わせられた。

kodomo no toki, haha ni piano o narawaserareta

When I was a child, I was made to learn piano.

Key takeaways

Causative-passive = causative + passive: build させる／せる, then swap る → られる (食べさせられる, 書かせられる).
Ichidan and する give 〜させられる; godan gives 〜せられる, which usually contracts to 〜される in speech.
The case frame is [victim]は [forcer]に [object]を …させられる — the subject is the one compelled, the forcer takes に.
The form always carries reluctance — "I was made to, and I resented it" — which is why it pairs with 無理やり. Do not use it for obligations you accept.
With emotion/cognition verbs (考えさせられる) the coercion drops out and it means "was moved / prompted to."

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