Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha haha ni mainiti 「hayaku nete」 to iwaremasu. - Every day my mother tells me, “Go to bed early.”

Active:
母は私に「早く寝て」と言います。
"My mother says to me, 'Go to bed early.' "
- 母は = subject/topic (mother does the action)
- 私に = "to me"
Passive:
私は母に「早く寝て」と言われます。
"I am told 'Go to bed early' by my mother."
- 私 becomes the affected person
- The doer (mother) switches to 母に

So in the passive:

に = "by (someone)"
Using 母は or 母が with 言われます would break the normal passive pattern. The passive structure needs the doer as Xに.

Why is the passive form 言われます used instead of 言います?

Using the passive here does two things:

Focus: It puts the focus on the speaker (the one being told), not on the mother.
- 母は私に…と言います。 – Focus on what the mother does.
- 私は母に…と言われます。 – Focus on what happens to me.
Nuance: Passive often carries a "being subjected to" nuance.
In this context, it can sound like:
- "I (have to) put up with my mom telling me this every day."
- A mild feeling of annoyance or complaint is common in this kind of passive.

So:

母は私に…と言います。 – more neutral, just stating what she does.
私は母に…と言われます。 – feels more like "I get told (all the time)," sometimes with a slightly complaining tone.

What does と do after 「早く寝て」?

と here is the quotative particle. It marks what is being said, thought, heard, etc.

Pattern:

「X」と言う – to say "X"
Xと考える – to think "X"
Xと思う – to think that X

In your sentence:

「早く寝て」と言われます。
= "I am told, 'Go to bed early.'"

So と connects the quoted words 早く寝て with the verb 言われます ("be told").

Why is it 早く and not 早い?

早い is an adjective ("early / fast").
早く is its adverb form.

Adjective form:
- 早い時間 – an early time
- 早い電車 – a fast train
Adverb form (〜く):
- 早く寝る – to sleep early
- 早く起きる – to wake up early

In 早く寝て, 早く modifies the verb 寝て/寝る ("to sleep"), so you need the adverb form.

So:

早い寝る – incorrect
早く寝る / 早く寝て – correct: "to sleep early / go to bed early"

Is 「早く寝て」 really an order? I thought the 〜て form just meant "and".

Yes, here 早く寝て is functioning as a casual/soft command.

The 〜て form has many uses; one of them is a gentle imperative, often used:

by parents to children
among close friends or family
in everyday casual speech

Examples:

宿題して。 – Do your homework.
静かにして。 – Be quiet.
ちょっと待って。 – Wait a second.

So 早く寝て literally is "sleep early (and...)", but in real usage here it means:

"Go to bed early."
More like "Come on, go to bed early," softer than a harsh command.

Stronger/more formal commands would be:

早く寝ろ。 – rough, very direct.
早く寝なさい。 – firm but more polite/parent-like.

Where can 毎日 go in the sentence? Is 母に毎日… also correct?

Yes, adverbs like 毎日 ("every day") are fairly flexible in position. All of these are natural:

私は母に毎日「早く寝て」と言われます。
私は毎日母に「早く寝て」と言われます。
母に毎日「早く寝て」と言われます。（dropping 私）

Nuance:

Position often slightly affects what is being highlighted, but the meaning is the same: "every day, my mother tells me to go to bed early."

Native speakers commonly say either:

毎日母に… or
母に毎日…

Both sound natural.

Can I drop 私は in this sentence?

Yes, and in natural conversation you almost always would.

Full:
私は母に毎日「早く寝て」と言われます。
More natural:
母に毎日「早く寝て」と言われます。

Japanese often omits pronouns (私, あなた, etc.) when they are clear from context. Since:

you are talking about your own mother, and
the default person being affected is usually "I" in this context,

私は is easily understood and can be omitted without confusion.

Why is it 母 and not お母さん?

When talking about your own mother to others, the neutral term is:

母（はは） – my mother (plain, neutral, slightly formal)

お母さん is:

what you call your mother directly: "Mom"
what you call someone else’s mother respectfully

So:

Talking to your friend about your mom:
- 母は厳しいです。 – My mother is strict.
Calling your mom:
- お母さん、ただいま。 – Mom, I’m home.

In your sentence, because you're describing what happens to you:

母に毎日… = "by my mother every day"
This is the appropriate, neutral way to refer to your own mother in narration.

What exactly does 言われます mean here in terms of tense and nuance?

言われます is:

the polite, non-past form
of the passive verb 言われる (be told / be said)

So:

言われます can be:
- "am told" (general/habitual)
- "will be told" (future, depending on context)

Because you have 毎日 ("every day"), it clearly expresses a habitual action:

毎日…言われます。
→ "I get told (this) every day."

Nuance:

As a passive, it can subtly imply:
- "I have this done to me," sometimes with a slight feeling of annoyance, especially in a context like being nagged by a parent.

Can I use から instead of に, like 母から毎日…と言われます?

Yes, 母から毎日「早く寝て」と言われます is grammatically possible and would be understood.

Nuance differences:

母に…と言われます。
- The standard marking of the agent in a passive sentence.
- Very normal, default choice.
母から…と言われます。
- Slightly emphasizes the source ("from my mother") rather than just the agent.
- Feels like "I get this kind of thing from my mother" — the origin of the words.

In everyday speech, 母に…と言われます is more common and natural for this kind of sentence. Use から if you want to emphasize "from (the direction of) my mother" as the source.

How would this sentence sound in casual, everyday speech with friends?

A very natural casual version would be:

母に毎日「早く寝て」って言われる。

Changes:

言われます → 言われる (plain form)
と → って (spoken, casual quotative)
Omit 私 as usual.

Meaning is the same:

"My mom tells me every day to go to bed early."
With the same light "ugh, she keeps telling me" nuance.

What’s the difference between 「早く寝て」と言われます and 早く寝るように言われます?

Both mean someone tells you to go to bed early, but:

「早く寝て」と言われます。
- Direct quote using と and 「　」.
- Emphasizes the exact words: 早く寝て.
- Feels like: "She says, 'Go to bed early.'"
早く寝るように言われます。
- Uses 〜ように言われる = "be told to (do something)".
- More like reported content / paraphrase, not necessarily the exact wording.
- Slightly more formal/neutral.
- Means: "I’m told to go to bed early."

So:

If you want to highlight the exact phrase your mother uses, use 「早く寝て」と言われます.
If you want to state the instruction in general, without focusing on the quote, use 早く寝るように言われます.