～させられる | The Emotional Use of the Causative-Passive Form

The spontaneous and emotional value of the causative-passive form saserareru

Category: Niche Japanese

The form ～させられる is almost always taught as the “causative-passive form”, that is, as a structure expressing coercion or imposition. However, there is a very common usage in written Japanese and in more refined spoken language in which ～させられる carries no negative sense of being forced at all, but instead indicates an emotional or mental reaction that arises spontaneously within the subject.

Expressions such as:

• 考えさせられる
• 感動させられる
• 泣かされる
• 驚かされる

do not mean “to be forced”, but rather “to be involuntarily led to feel something.”

In this article, we will examine this semantic value in detail, a usage that is often overlooked in JLPT N2 grammar textbooks.

～させられる (saserareru) - General Overview

In modern Japanese, the causative-passive form (使役受身形 shieki ukemi kei) is formed by combining the causative suffix ～させる with the passive suffix ～られる, resulting in ～させられる.

This construction is primarily used to express the idea of being subjected to coercion, that is, to indicate that the subject is (or was) forced by someone to perform an action (often against their own will).

In this sense, ～させられる conveys a feeling of being compelled, implying that the action was not desired by the subject.

From a morphological point of view, the conjugation is formed by attaching ～させられる to the dictionary form of the verb.

For example:

食べる → 食べさせられる, 行く → 行かせられる, する → させられる, 来る → 来させられる.

In colloquial Japanese, contracted forms exist for certain Group I verbs (五段動詞). For example, 行かせられる may become 行かされる, 読ませられる → 読まされる, and so on (however, verbs ending in -す, such as 話す, do not undergo this contraction). These shortened forms are common in informal speech, whereas standard written Japanese tends to use the full forms.

Example:

両親に勉強させられた

As mentioned above, however, there is also a use of ～させられる that is almost never explained—or even mentioned—in grammar books and textbooks for foreign learners, and it is this usage that we will now explore in greater depth.

Spontaneous Reaction (Emotional or Mental)

With verbs expressing feelings, emotions, or mental activity, ～させられる can indicate that a certain feeling or thought arose spontaneously within the subject, prompted by something or someone.

In this case, there is no negative connotation of coercion whatsoever; rather, the emphasis is on the spontaneity or involuntary nature of the emotion or thought that has been triggered.

For example:

彼の話に考えさせられた - His words made me reflect.

Literally, “I was made to think by his words”, that is, they prompted me to think.

In sentences like this, the subject involuntarily experiences a certain emotional or mental state because of an external event—or, to put it in a way that captures the nuance of the construction even more clearly, the external factor pushes the subject toward that emotional or mental state.

This emotional use of させられる is connected to the way Japanese expresses interpersonal relationships, much as it does with expressions such as すみません and ありがとう.

Therefore, when ～させられる is used with verbs of emotion or mental activity, its meaning departs from the typical idea of “making someone do something against their will” and instead takes on a sense of emotional spontaneity. This usage is common with verbs such as:

考える (“to think, reflect”) – 考えさせられる means “to be led to reflect (by something)”, in other words, “something makes me think.”

Example: この本を読んで考えさせられた - “Reading this book made me reflect deeply.”

In other words, the book triggered a reflection within me (one that arose spontaneously).

驚く／びっくりする (“to be surprised, astonished”) – 驚かされる (the causative-passive form of 驚かす) or びっくりさせられる mean “to be surprised” or “to be astonished (by something).”

Example: 毎回彼のアイデアに驚かされる - “His ideas surprise me every time.” (lit. “Every time, I am made to be surprised by his ideas.”)

Similarly:

あの場所の景色の美しさに驚かされました - “I was amazed by the beauty of the scenery in that place.”

In these sentences, 驚かされる is equivalent to “I find myself involuntarily surprised,” emphasizing the spontaneous feeling of astonishment caused by something unexpected.

感動する (“to be moved, deeply touched”) – 感動させられる means “to be deeply moved (by something).”

Example: 私は彼の熱のこもったスピーチに感動させられた – “His passionate speech moved me deeply.”

Here, 感動させられた emphasizes that the emotional response arose spontaneously within the listener because of the moving speech (it does not imply coercion at all; nobody can force someone to be moved, the reaction is natural). An equivalent expression in English might be “I was deeply moved by his speech.”

感心する (“to admire, be impressed by”) – 感心させられる means “to be impressed” or “to be led to admire someone or something.”

For example: 彼女の礼儀正しさには感心させられます – “Her politeness leaves me impressed.”

In this case, the speaker is expressing that they cannot help but admire her good manners; their admiration arose spontaneously in response to that quality.

泣く (“to cry”) – 泣かされる means “to be made to cry by something/someone,” often in the sense that something brings tears to one’s eyes.

Example: あの映画には本当に泣かされました – “That movie really made me cry.”

Here, the speaker means that the movie was so sad or moving that it brought them to tears; 泣かされました expresses that the tears came involuntarily as an emotional response to the film. (It should be noted that 泣かされる does not necessarily imply an intentional act of coercion—it usually does not mean “to be forcibly made to cry,” but rather “to be moved to tears.”)

The Difference Between 泣かされた and 泣いてしまった

A comparison that is particularly useful, in our view, and deserves closer examination is the one between:

• 泣かされた
• 泣いてしまった

Both expressions can be translated as “I cried”, but the perspective is different.

泣かされた shifts the focus to the external cause that triggered the emotional reaction. The event (a movie, a speech, a situation) is the true driving force behind the action.

泣いてしまった, on the other hand, places the focus on the action performed by the subject, often with a nuance of surprise, inevitability, or mild regret.

In other words:

• 泣かされた → “something made me cry”
• 泣いてしまった → “I ended up crying”

This comparison helps us understand how ～させられる highlights the semantic pressure exerted by the external cause.

In all of these examples, ～させられる emphasizes that the subject’s emotional reaction occurred outside their conscious control, almost in spite of themselves, but without any negative nuance of coercion.

It is a way of shifting attention to the external cause that triggered the emotion or thought. In English, these sentences can often be rendered with expressions such as “it made me [feel an emotion]” or “I was left [emotionally affected]”, which capture the idea of an emotion arising spontaneously as a result of something.

Speaking of syntax, these sentences follow the pattern “Xに～させられる”, where X (marked by に) is the external agent or cause that triggers the reaction, and the verb in the causative-passive form describes the subject’s reaction.

For example, in the sentence 彼の話に考えさせられた, 彼の話 (“his words/story”) is the element that caused the subject’s involuntary reflection (with 私 “I” understood).

Similarly, 映画に泣かされた indicates that the movie is the causal agent that made the subject cry.

It is important to note that not all verbs can take on this spontaneous meaning when used with ～させられる. This usage is limited to verbs expressing emotions, sensations, or involuntary mental activities.

For example, with ordinary action verbs (e.g. 食べる “to eat”, 行く “to go”), ～させられる does not indicate spontaneity but rather the standard coercive causative-passive meaning.

If we tried to use ～させられる with a verb such as 走る (“to run”) without a clear emotional context, it would naturally be interpreted as “to be forced to run” rather than “to start running spontaneously.”

To summarize: the semantics of ～させられる change depending on the type of verb involved. With verbs of emotion or thought, it takes on the meaning of a spontaneous reaction; with other verbs, it retains its meaning of imposed action.

In Summary: When ～させられる Indicates a Spontaneous Reaction

We can recognize the emotional use of ～させられる when:

• The verb expresses an emotion, mental state, or psychological reaction;
• There is no sense of intentional coercion on the part of an agent;
• The focus is placed on the external cause that triggers the reaction;
• The simple passive form (～られる) would be ambiguous or unnatural.

In these cases, ～させられる does not mean “to be forced”, but rather “to be involuntarily led to feel something.”

Conclusions

From a strictly lexical perspective, it is also worth noting that for many non-suru verbs—especially so-called godan and ichidan verbs expressing feelings—there is a form in ～れる/～られる (the simple passive) that already carries a spontaneous meaning.

For example, 思い出す (“to remember, to come to mind”) can become 思い出される to indicate “it comes back to me spontaneously”, and 感じる (“to feel, experience [an emotion]”) becomes 感じられる for “I feel it (without being able to help it).” In such cases, the auxiliary ～れる/られる (simple passive) is sufficient to express spontaneity.

By contrast, with many suru verbs expressing emotions, Japanese resorts to ～させられる because the direct passive form would sound unnatural or ambiguous.

For example, 彼に感動された sounds decidedly unnatural if the intended meaning is “I was moved by him”, whereas 彼に感動させられた is the correct expression.

Likewise, 考えられる is usually interpreted as a potential form (“can think” or “is conceivable”), so 考えさせられる is used instead to express “to be led to think.”

In short, the use of ～させられる is preferred with those verbs of emotion and thought (often suru verbs) for which the simple ～られる form is either unavailable or potentially confusing. This makes it possible to express clearly that “a particular feeling was spontaneously evoked in me” by a given external cause.