Breakdown of otouto ha ongaku no onryou wo agesugita node, haha ni rimokon wo toraremasita.
Questions & Answers about otouto ha ongaku no onryou wo agesugita node, haha ni rimokon wo toraremasita.
Why is 弟 marked with は here? Why not が?
は marks 弟 as the topic: As for my younger brother...
In this sentence, the speaker is setting up 弟 as the thing being talked about first:
弟は 音楽の音量を上げすぎたので、母にリモコンを取られました。
This feels like:
- As for my younger brother, he turned the music up too much, so his mother took the remote from him.
If you used が, it would sound more like you are identifying him specifically as the one who did it:
- 弟が ... = It was my younger brother who...
Both can be possible in some contexts, but は is very natural when introducing the situation as the topic.
Why does 弟 just mean younger brother? Why isn’t there a word for my?
Japanese often leaves out my, your, his, etc. when the relationship is clear from context.
So 弟 can mean:
- my younger brother
- someone’s younger brother
depending on context.
In a normal sentence like this, if the speaker says 弟, it usually means my younger brother unless something else is specified.
The same is true for 母:
- 母 usually means my mother in this kind of context.
Japanese relies heavily on context, so words like my are often unnecessary.
What does 音楽の音量 mean exactly? Why is there a の between them?
音楽の音量 means the volume of the music.
Breakdown:
- 音楽 = music
- 音量 = volume
- の connects nouns
So A の B often means:
- B of A
- A’s B
- B related to A
Here:
- 音楽の音量 = the music’s volume / the volume of the music
It sounds more specific than just 音量.
The speaker is not talking about volume in general, but specifically the volume of the music.
Why is 音量 marked with を?
Because 音量 is the direct object of 上げすぎた.
The verb part 上げる means to raise.
What was raised? 音量.
So:
- 音量を上げる = to raise the volume
The particle を marks the thing directly affected by the action.
How is 上げすぎた formed, and what does it mean?
上げすぎた is made from:
- 上げる = to raise
- すぎる = to do too much / to exceed
- past tense た
So:
- 上げる → raise
- 上げすぎる → raise too much
- 上げすぎた → raised too much
This pattern is very common in Japanese:
- 食べすぎる = eat too much
- 飲みすぎる = drink too much
- 話しすぎる = talk too much
So 音量を上げすぎた means:
- turned the volume up too much
- raised the volume too much
Why is ので used here? How is it different from から?
ので means because / since, and it often sounds a bit more explanatory, objective, or softer than から.
So:
- 上げすぎたので = because he turned it up too much
- 上げすぎたから would also be possible, but can sound a little more direct or blunt.
Very roughly:
- ので = more neutral, explanatory
- から = more straightforward, sometimes more personal/assertive
In this sentence, ので fits naturally because the first clause gives the reason for what happened next.
Why is 母 marked with に?
Here, に marks the agent in a passive sentence.
The ending 取られました is passive, so 母に means:
- by mother
- from mother’s action
So:
- 母に リモコンを取られました = had the remote taken by my mother
In passive sentences, the person who performs the action is often marked with に.
Why is 取られました passive? Why not just say 母がリモコンを取りました?
Great question. This is one of the most important points in the sentence.
取られました is the passive form of 取る:
- 取る = to take
- 取られる = to be taken
- 取られました = was taken / had taken
But this is not just a plain passive. It is the kind of passive Japanese often uses when someone is affected in an unpleasant or inconvenient way. This is sometimes called the adversity passive or suffering passive.
So:
- 母がリモコンを取りました = Mother took the remote.
This simply states the action.
But:
- 母にリモコンを取られました = I/he had the remote taken by mother.
This highlights the person affected by the action, often with a feeling like:
- and that was annoying / unfortunate / inconvenient
That nuance is very natural here, because the brother turned the volume up too much, and as a result the mother took the remote away.
Who is the person affected in リモコンを取られました? The sentence doesn’t say explicitly.
It is understood from context that the affected person is 弟.
So the structure is basically:
- 弟は ... 母にリモコンを取られました
- As for my younger brother, ... he had the remote taken by his mother.
Japanese often omits things that are obvious from context.
Even though there is no explicit word like he before 取られました, the topic 弟は carries through the sentence.
Why is it リモコンを取られました and not something like リモコンから取られました or リモコンを母に取ってもらいました?
取る directly takes リモコン as its object:
- リモコンを取る = take the remote
So in the passive:
- リモコンを取られる = have the remote taken
You do not need から here because the remote itself is the thing being taken.
Also, 取ってもらいました would mean something completely different:
- 母にリモコンを取ってもらいました
= I had my mother get/take the remote for me
This usually suggests the action was done as a favor.
That is the opposite of the meaning here.
In your sentence, the mother taking the remote is not a favor—it is something done to stop the brother.
Why does the sentence mix 上げすぎた and 取られました? Why is one plain and the other polite?
This is a very common pattern in Japanese.
Only the final verb of the sentence usually carries the main politeness level. Earlier clauses are often left in plain form, even in polite speech.
So:
- 上げすぎたので = plain past + ので
- 取られました = polite past
This is perfectly normal.
You could think of it like this:
- the non-final clause is just linking information
- the final verb sets the sentence’s overall politeness
So this sentence is grammatically and stylistically natural.
Does 取られました mean was stolen here?
Not exactly.
取る can mean take, and in some contexts a passive form can sound like had something taken, which may feel similar to was stolen. But here the context is clearly not theft.
Because the agent is 母に and the earlier clause explains the reason, the meaning is:
- his mother took the remote away from him
So it is better understood as:
- had the remote taken away by his mother rather than
- the remote was stolen
Could this sentence be translated as My younger brother turned the music up too much, so my mother took the remote away from him even though Japanese uses the passive?
Yes. That is a very natural English translation.
Japanese often uses the passive in places where English would prefer an active sentence. If you translated it too literally, you might get:
- My younger brother turned the music volume up too much, so he had the remote taken by his mother.
That is understandable, but it sounds awkward in English.
A smoother English version is:
- My younger brother turned the music up too much, so my mother took the remote away from him.
This captures the meaning well, even though the grammar is not a word-for-word match.
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