Transitive & Intransitive Verb Pairs
Up to this point, we have learned about a lot of grammar points which behave differently depending on whether the verb of the sentence is intransitive or transitive. To recap, the Japanese terms for transitive verbs (他動詞) and intransitive verbs (自動詞) can be described as follows:
| 他動詞 | An action with an active agent and an object affected by said action. |
| 自動詞 | An action that has no direct object, or a state that has no active agent and no direct object. |
An “agent” is the “doer” of an action, but while 他動詞 and 自動詞 may both possess agents, the agent of a 自動詞 need not always be an “active” choice.
For instance, when a person 暮らす, living about their life, the act of living itself is deemed to be “non-active” from the standpoint of willful intent. Thus, 暮らす is a 自動詞 with neither an active agent nor a direct object. Meanwhile, a verb like 走る (to run), is also a 自動詞 due to it not having a direct object, but unlike 暮らす, it does have an active agent: the person running.
Transitive verbs, on the other hand, always posses active agents, whose actions inevitably affect something else (the direct object).
As straightforward as this may seem, the transitivity of verbs need not necessarily match up with their English counterparts. Some verbs like the stative-transitive 分かる (to understand) are classified as 自動詞, and in this case, it demonstrates something known as ergative grammar, in which the object manifests as the subject of an intransitive verb.
Identifying 自他動詞
While there are a few handful of verbs in Japanese which exhibit transitivity in a foreign manner compared to English, within the confines of Japanese itself, knowing how to identify 自動詞 from 他動詞 and vice versa is possible.
As we have known since Lesson 16, the presence of the case particle を, for the purpose of marking the direct object of a sentence, alone identifies a verb as a 他動詞. When を does happen to be paired with a 自動詞, it does not mark the direct object, but the medium in which a transition of some kind goes “through.”
1. パソコンを捨てる。 (捨てる ＝ 他動詞)
To toss a PC.
2. 道を歩く。 (歩く ＝ 自動詞)
To walk through the street.
If を does not appear in the sentence at all, it may seem like a safe bet that the verb at hand is a 自動詞, but because direct objects can be dropped in context, you will still have to assess whether it makes sense for the verb to have a direct object or not, and if you think no, then chances are the verb is a 自動詞.
3. 鳥が歌っている。 (歌う ＝ 他動詞)
The bird is singing.
One sings a “song” (direct object), whether the singer be human or a bird. Thus, there is intrinsically always a direct object in the deep-sentence structure of 歌う whether it is stated or not.
4. 車が停まった。 (停まる ＝ 自動詞)
The car stopped.
While a car could stop itself, the phenomenon implied by 停まる is that the car happened to stop, in which case, no direct object is involved.
自他動詞 Verb Pairs
In both English and Japanese, there are transitive-intransitive verb pairs, which are verb forms with a common etymology which differ only by their transitivity. Examples in English include:
i. The flag rose. (“to rise” = intransitive)
ii. The soldier raised his flag. (“to raise” = transitive)
iii. The dog lied down on his bed. (“to lie down” = intransitive)
iv. The man laid down a bed for his dog. (“to lay down” = transitive)
While instances of such verb pairs are not rare in English, they are far more pervasive in Japanese, which causes a problem for learners. In English, other aspects of the language’s grammar make up for not always distinguishing transitivity in its verb forms, and while the same thing could also be said for Japanese via particle choice, the choice to make the distinction obvious via separate verb forms anyway can be viewed as a consequence of habitually dropping subjects and objects. To conceptualize this issue at hand, consider the following:
v. The drink froze. (intransitive)
vi. I froze my drink. (transitive)
In English, “to freeze” could be either intransitive or transitive, and as we can see, the placement of “to freeze” is not the same in these two sentences. Yet, in Japanese, the verb would never float around like this, and while particle usage would still make the transitivity of the verb obvious, these different iterations of “to freeze” would be different words: 凍る (intransitive) and 凍らす (transitive).
There are upwards of 300 of these verb pairs in Japanese, so it is in your benefit as a learner to know as many as possible to prevent unnecessary grammar mistakes, as solid particle knowledge would become irrelevant if you chose the wrong verb form. That being said, the remainder of this lesson will be about the four sub-types of transitive-verb pairs that exist based on their morphology (how they are constructed).
Type I: ある/おる Fused to Root = Intransitive
The verbs ある and おる are two of the handful of existential verbs which exist in Japanese. Incidentally, their roots ar– and wor1– combine to the roots of verbs with transitive-intransitive verb pairs to indicate the intransitive meaning.
Meanwhile, the transitive iterations of these verbs may end in /-u/, /-eru/, or /-ru/ depending on the original verb class prior to ar-/wor– being affixed.
| 自動詞 | Example | 他動詞 | Example | |
| a | √[w]-ar-u | 上がる (to rise) | √-Ø-eru | 上げる (to raise) |
| b | √-ar-u | 塞がる (to be blocked) | √-Ø-u | 塞ぐ (to block) |
| c | √[w]-ar-eru | 分かれる (to be divided) | √-Ø-eru | 分ける (to split) |
| d | √[y]-eru | 見える (to be in sight) | √-Ø-ru | 見る (to see) |
| e | √-o[y]-eru | 聞こえる (to be heard) | √-Ø-u | 聞く (to hear) |
| f | √-or-u | 積もる (to pile up) | √-Ø-u | 積む (to pile) |
| g | √-or-eru | 埋もれる (to be covered) | √-Ø-eru | 埋める (to bury) |
Chart Note: Ø stands for “nothing,” and in the context of this sub-type, this means that no morpheme is inserted to state that the verb is transitive as is the case for when it is intransitive.
For historical reasons, /w/-/y/ may be present at the end of verb roots. As for those which end in /w/, this may not always be silent like /y/ is. An example of this is the verb pair 加わる “to be added (intr.)・加える “to add (trans.), in which the verb root for both is kuwaw-.
5. バラの木が植わっている。
There are rose bushes planted.
6. バラの木を植えました。
I planted a rose bush.
7. 社長は溜息混じりに話題を変えました。
The company president sighed and changed the topic.
8. 気が変わったかわからない。
I don’t know if [his/her] mind changed.
9. 土が血で染まった。
The ground was dyed with blood.
10. 今まで髪を染めたことがありません。
I’ve yet to dye my hair before.
11. 宿題を始めてもすぐに集中が途切れる2。
Even when I start doing my homework, I immediately lose focus.
12. フェアでない貿易というのはあるのでしょうか、という問題提起から授業は始まりました。
Our class/lesson began with the question “is there such thing as unfair trade” posed (to us).
13. タクシーを止めなかったの？
You didn’t stop a taxi?
14. 車が突然止まった。
The car suddenly stopped.
15. 日本製鉄は訴えを起こす方針を固めました。
Nippon Steel has consolidated its stance to sue.
16. 人事がほぼ固まりました。
Personnel is almost finalized.
17. 雨はどんどん強まっているが、避難指示はまだ出ていません。
The rain is steadily getting stronger, but no evacuation orders have been issued yet.
18. 語気を強めて回答した。
(I) answered with a strong tone.
Type 2: /-s/ = Transitive
For Type 2, the distinction between the two is made by inserting /-s/ onto the shared root. The subsequent subtypes (a-i) are largely derived from differences in the original verb class of the root verb, but there is also considerable variation as to what vowel intervenes in between the root and this affix—/a/, /o/, or rarely /u/3.
| 自動詞 | Example | 他動詞 | Example | |
| a | √-Ø-eru | 冷える (to get chilly) | √-(y)as-u | 冷やす (to chill) |
| b | √-Ø-u | 散る (to scatter) | √-(w)as-u | 散らす (to scatter) |
| c | √-Ø-iru | 干る (to dry up) | √-os-u | 干す (to dry) |
| d | √-Ø-iru | 生きる (to live) | √-as-u | 生かす (to keep alive) |
| e | √-Ø-ru | 着る4 (to wear) | √-s-eru | 着せる (to clothe) |
| f | √-Ø-eru | 膨れる (to swell) | √-as-eru | 膨らせる (to swell) |
| g | √-Ø-u | 及ぶ (to extend) | √-os-u | 及ぼす (to affect) |
| h | √-Ø-iru | 綻びる (to come apart) | √-as-eru | 綻ばせる (to break at the seams) |
| i | √-Ø-iru | 尽きる (to run out) | √-us-u | 尽くす (to exhaust) |
19. iPhoneのバックカメラを壊しました。
I broke my iPhone’s back camera.
20. カメラが壊れていてもレッスンが受けられますか？
Can I still take lessons if my camera is broken?
21. すぐ家の近くを流れる川の水が、地下トンネルを通って遠くの湖に流れているんだ。
The water from the river that runs close to our house flows through an underground tunnel into a lake that’s far away.
22. トイレを流した後に、水位がどんどん上がると焦りますよね。
It can be frustrating when the water level keeps rising after you flush the toilet.
23. 可燃ゴミを出しました。
I threw out my combustible waste.
24. 住宅から火が出ました。
A fire broke out in the residence.
25. 子供は、親を困らせるために癇癪を起しているわけではないのです。
Children don’t throw tantrums to annoy their parents.
26. 試合が終わって、私はすぐテレビを消しました。
As soon as the game was over, I turned off the TV.
27. アプリのアイコンが消えました。
The app icon disappeared.
Type 3: /-s/ to Transitive Verbs?
Type 3 may be viewed as the same as Type 2 with the exception being that there is enough historical evidence to suggest that the root verb was transitive in origin and that the inclusion of /-s/ produced a definitive delineation between an “intransitive” and “transitive” interpretation of said verb.
Some of the examples are striking, and they present themselves as blatant irregularities in Japanese grammar. For instance, “to ride” 乗る5 is classified as a 自動詞, and indeed, it does not take the particle を. Yet, its meaning is transitive in nature.
| 自動詞 | Meaning | 他動詞 | Meaning | |
| a | √[r]-u | 余る (to be plenty) | √-s-u | 余す (to spare over) |
| b | √[r]-eru | 現れる (to appear) | √-s-u | 現す (to reveal) |
| c | √[r]-u | 乗る (to ride) | √-s-eru | 乗せる (to give X a ride) |
| d | √[y]-eru | 越える (to go over) | √-s-u | 越す (to go over) |
| e | √[r]-iru | 足りる (to suffice) | √-s-u | 足す (to add) |
28. 野生のイシツブテが現れた！
A wild Geodude appeared!
29. 大きな怪物が姿を現した。
A large monster appeared=showed itself.
While 越す is the transitive pair to the intransitive 越える, distinguishing them in practice is not so easy. To make matters worse, both can be alternatively spelled as 超える・超す to further nuance their usage. Putting aside their transitivity, these four combinations may be used for the following meanings:
| 越える | 超える | 越す | 超す |
| to cross over (intr.) | to exceed/surpass (amount) (trans.?) | to cross over (with intent) (trans.?) | to exceed/surpass (amount) (trans.?) |
| to pass over (a milestone in time) (intr.) | to pass (a season) (trans.) | ||
| to surpass (in rank) (intr.) | to get ahead of (trans.) | ||
| to transcend (trans.?) | to go/come (intr.) | ||
| to move6 (intr.) |
Japanese grammarians and dictionaries alike7 disagree as to whether the concept of “to exceed/surpass,” putting aside further nuancing, constitutes a medium + the transition marker を or simply a direct object that is being outdone + the direct object marker を. Further confusion arises from how 越す possesses unambiguously intransitive meanings, and from how 越す in its first meaning of “to cross over (a barrier) with intent” implies a willful, active agent, which is most likely but not entirely limited to transitive verbs.
30. その騎士は山を｛越えた 〇・越した ◎｝。
That knight crossed over the mountain.
31. 気流が山を｛越えた 〇・越した X｝。
The air current passed over the mountain.
32. 冬を｛越した 〇・越えた X｝。
(We) passed through winter.
33. 気温が３０℃を｛越える ◎・越す 〇｝。
The temperature exceeds 30℃.
34. 先を｛越される 〇・越えられる X｝。
To be overtaken.
35. オフィスにお｛越し 〇・越え X｝ください。
Please come to my office.
Type 4: Change in Verb Class
For the above types, an affix is added to the shared root to determine its transitivity. Yet, for Type 4, verb class determines the transitivity. Ironically, this type is split into two polar opposite subtypes.
| 自動詞 | Example | 他動詞 | Example | |
| a | √-Ø-u | 開く (to open) | √-Ø-eru | 開ける (to open) |
| b | √-Ø-eru | 割れる (to crack) | √-Ø-u | 割る (to crack) |
36. ドアを開けました。
I opened the door.
37. 自動ドアが開きました。
The automatic door opened.
38. 妹がテレビをつけました。
My little sister turned on the TV.
39. テレビがつきました。
The TV came on.
40. 大勢の人が列に並んでいます。
A large number of people are queued up.
41. 本を棚に並べました。
I put the books on the shelf.
42. お礼の手紙を届けました。
I sent a thank-you letter.
43. お礼の手紙が届きました。
A thank-you letter has arrived.
44. パンが焼けました。
Bread has been baked.
45. パンを焼きました。
I baked bread.
Essential Pairs
Excluding those already shown in the charts and examples shown so far, we will conclude this lesson with a chart of 50 more of the most essential transitive-intransitive verb pairs followed with a healthy bank of example sentences.
Many words have alternate, related meanings depending on how they are spelled in kanji, but to simply focus on the verb pairs themselves, variant spellings will not be shown. Similarly, only one meaning is chosen per word so that attention is drawn to how each pair relates internally. Furthermore, the transitivity of the meanings provided match their Japanese counterparts (excluding exceptional cases which are accompanied with footnotes).
| Type | Intransitive | Meaning | Transitive | Meaning |
| 1 | 閉まる | to be shut | 閉める | to shut |
| 2 | 燃える | to burn | 燃やす | to burn |
| 2 | 残る | to remain | 残す | to leave |
| 2 | 戻る | to return | 戻す | to return |
| 2 | 倒れる | to collapse | 倒す | to throw down |
| 1 | 決まる | to be decided | 決める | to decide |
| 4 | 切れる | to be cut | 切る | to cut |
| 2 | 溶ける | to melt | 溶かす | to melt |
| 1 | 重なる | to overlap | 重ねる | to overlap |
| 1 | 曲がる | to bend | 曲げる | to bend |
| 2 | 回る | to rotate | 回す | to rotate |
| 4 | 折れる | to bend | 折る | to bend |
| 2 | 沸く | to boil | 沸かす | to boil |
| 1 | 染まる | to be dyed | 染める | to dye |
| 1 | 温まる | to warm up | 温める | to warm (up) |
| 1 | 当たる | to be hit | 当てる | to hit |
| 4 | 止む | to stop | 止める | to stop |
| 4 | 続く | to continue | 続ける | to continue |
| 1 | 集まる | to gather | 集める | to gather |
| 2 | 直る | to be fixed | 直す | to fix |
| 2 | 鳴る | to ring | 鳴らす | to ring |
| 2 | 潰れる | to be crushed | 潰す | to crush |
| 2 | 零れる | to be spilled | 零す | to spill |
| 2 | 落ちる | to fall | 落とす | to drop |
| 4 | 破れる | to tear | 破る | to tear |
| 1 | 貯まる | to be stored | 貯める | to store |
| 1 | 助かる | to be helped | 助ける | to help |
| 2 | 乾く | to get dry | 乾かす | to dry |
| 1 | 見つかる8 | to be found | 見つける | to find |
| 2 | 癒える | to be healed | 癒やす | to heal |
| 1 | 受かる9 | to pass (an exam) | 受ける10 | to receive |
| 2 | 移る | to transfer | 移す | to transfer |
| 4 | 売れる | to be sold | 売る11 | to sell |
| 1 | 終わる | to finish | 終える | to finish |
| 2 | 降りる | to get off | 降ろす | to drop off |
| 2 | 帰る | to go home | 帰す | to send home |
| 2 | 隠れる | to hide | 隠す | to hide (oneself) |
| 4 | 叶う | to come true | 叶える | to grant (a wish) |
| 2 | 枯れる | to wither | 枯らす | to let dry |
| 4 | 傷つく | to be hurt | 傷つける | to hurt |
| 2 | 崩れる | to crumble | 崩す | to demolish |
| 4 | 苦しむ | to suffer | 苦しめる | to torment |
| 4 | 削れる | to be shaved | 削る | to shave off |
| 2 | 汚れる | to get dirty | 汚す | to make dirty |
| 2 | 焦げる | to burn | 焦がす | to burn |
| 1 | 刺さる | to pierce12 | 刺す | to pierce |
| 1 | 高まる | to be promoted | 高める | to boost |
| 1 | 遠ざかる | to become distant | 遠ざける | to keep away |
| 4 | 整う | to be arranged | 整える | to put in order |
| 1 | 広がる | to spread out | 広げる | to spread |
46. ブレーカーが落ちたのは初でした。
It was the first time for the breaker to trip.
47. あ、財布を落としましたよ。
Ah, you dropped your wallet.
48. アップデートしたら直りました。
It got fixed when I updated.
49. 日本語のミスを直しました。
I fixed (my) Japanese mistakes.
50. 紙が切れた13！
I ran out of paper!
51. 包丁で指を切ってしまった。
I cut my finger with a kitchen knife.
52. やってみたらお金が貯まった14！
When I gave it a try, it really saved me money!
53. バルセロナ旅行のためにお金を貯めています。
I’m saving up money for a trip to Barcelona.
54. お寺の鐘が鳴っています。
The temple bells are ringing.
55. 平和を祈り、一緒に鐘を鳴らしました。
(We) rang the bell together, praying for peace.
56. 美容院で髪を染めました。
I dyed my hair at a salon.
57. 服が血に染まっている。
The clothes are stained with blood.
58. 地震で家が潰れた。
The house collapsed from the earthquake.
59. ニキビを潰した後は、肌を清潔に保つことが大切です。
After popping a pimple, it’s important to keep your skin clean.
60. ネクタイ、曲がってるよ？
Your tie is crooked, y’know?
61. 犬が仰向けで前足を曲げて寝ている時は、リラックスをしている状態です。
When a dog sleeps on its back with its front legs bent, it is in a relaxed state.
62. 骨が折れる15作業だよ。
It’s pain-staking work.
63. 左脚の骨を折りました。
I broke my left leg.
64. 棘が皮膚に刺さった。
A thorn pierced my skin.
65. 自分で右足を刺した。
I stabbed my own right foot.
66. 壊れたデータが見つかりました。
Corrupted data has been found.
67. 良い宿を見つけました。
I found a good lodge.
68. 傷ついている友達がいます。
I have friends who are hurt.
69. 誰かを傷つけてしまった。
I accidentally hurt someone.
70. ご飯が焦げている。
The rice is burnt.
71. うっかり卵焼きを焦がしてしまった。
I incidentally burned my rolled omelet.
72. 地球は太陽の周りを回る。
The earth rotates around the Sun.
73. 地球儀を回して、言った国を指して。
Spin the globe and point to the country you mentioned.
74. スタジオが燃えている。
The studio is on fire.
75. 旗を燃やすことに意味はあるの？
Is there meaning behind burning a flag?
- Word forms are complex, and oftentimes, referencing the historically accurate iteration of a word’s root can help us better understand it. In this case, おる was not always /oru/ as it is today. When these transitive-intransitive verb pairs were forming in Japanese, this verb was actually をり. ↩︎
- While the English translation states “to lose focus,” the verb 途切れる more literally translates to “to cut out.” ↩︎
- In any event, this variation in intervening vowels can be explained by the emergence of the 未然形 in verbal conjugation in Japanese, which can be verified by the eventual derivation of the causative auxiliaries from the morpheme /-s/. ↩︎
- Although 着る is transitive, the inclusion of /-s/ indicates that the “clothes” are being put onto “someone else” as opposed to clothing oneself, thus calling for another affix. ↩︎
- While Japanese is in its own language family, the fact that no surrounding language exhibits the same “intransitive” designation for “to ride” is odd, but there is still no written record of ～を乗る having ever been a thing. ↩︎
- This usage is used with the object marker に. ↩︎
- While all dictionaries label 越える・超える as intransitive, taking the position that を when used with it is a transition marker, dictionaries waver as to whether any usages of 越す・超す should be viewed as transitive at all. Those that list it as both depending on its nuance include the 広辞苑 and 岩波. ↩︎
- 見つかる is often translated as “to find,” but the key difference between it and its transitive 見つける is that 見つかる has no active agent. Meaning, the act of finding occurs by happenstance. ↩︎
- The act of “passing an exam” is viewed as being intransitive due to there being no active agent. The exam, however, is still treated as an object, taking the particle に as opposed to を. ↩︎
- The meaning of 受ける parallel to 受かる is “to take (a test).” Also note how 受ける also has an intransitive meaning of “to be popular.” ↩︎
- In the last few decades, 売る has gradually gained an intransitive usage in the sense of establishments selling things, but because the establishments themselves are not “active agents,” the intransitive 売れる ought to be used. ↩︎
- 刺さる may more clearly be translated as “to be pierced by…” in which its intransitive nature becomes more apparent. ↩︎
- While “to run out” is transitive in English, the Japanese equivalent, which utilizes 切れる is intransitive due to not having an active agent. ↩︎
- To get a better picture of how 貯まる is intransitive, you may also view it as “to accumulate.” ↩︎
- Whereas 骨を折る is used to literally mean “to break/fracture a bone,” 骨が折れる is used idiomatically to mean “to be painstaking/backbreaking.” ↩︎