This form shows respect for the person who does the action, such as a teacher, a boss, or a customer. It is a light honorific, less formal than お〜になる, and is very common at work and in the news. The shape is the same as the passive, so you tell them apart by the particles and the context. You never use it for your own actions.
§1Structure
Made exactly like the passive form. Group I: change the last -u sound to the -a sound + れる (書く → 書かれる, 読む → 読まれる, 帰る → 帰られる). Group II: drop る + られる (出る → 出られる, やめる → やめられる). Irregular: する → される, 来る → 来られる (こられる). The particles stay the same as in the ordinary active sentence (先生が本を書かれました).
§2Examples
社長は毎朝、新聞を読まれます。
しゃちょうはまいあさ、しんぶんをよまれます。
The company president reads the newspaper every morning.
先生はどこでこのかばんを買われましたか。
せんせいはどこでこのかばんをかわれましたか。
Where did you buy this bag, Professor?
部長はきのう大阪へ出張されました。
ぶちょうはきのうおおさかへしゅっちょうされました。
The department manager went to Osaka on a business trip yesterday.
田中先生はお酒を飲まれません。
たなかせんせいはおさけをのまれません。
Professor Tanaka does not drink alcohol.
お客様は3時ごろ来られます。
おきゃくさまはさんじごろこられます。
The customer will come at around three o'clock.
部長はけさ8時に家を出られました。
ぶちょうはけさはちじにいえをでられました。
The department manager left home at eight this morning.
課長はもう帰られたよ。
かちょうはもうかえられたよ。
The section chief has already gone home.
§3Common mistakes
- Using the honorific form for your own actions or for your own family when talking to outsiders. ✕ 私は3時に帰られます。 → ○ 私は3時に帰ります。 Honorific forms are only for the actions of the person you respect.
- Changing the particles as if the sentence were passive. In the honorific use the person you respect is still the doer, so the particles are the same as in the active sentence: ○ 先生がこの本を書かれました (The teacher wrote this book). If you say 先生に本を書かれました, it becomes a passive sentence with a different meaning.
- Adding れる to a verb that is already honorific (a double honorific). ✕ お読みになられます → ○ お読みになります or ○ 読まれます. Choose one honorific pattern, not two at once.
§4How it's different from similar grammar
- お〜になる (honorific verb pattern)
- Both show respect for the doer, but お〜になる sounds more respectful and more formal: 社長はもうお帰りになりました. The れる／られる form is lighter and shorter: 社長はもう帰られました. れる／られる can also be made from する-verbs and 来る (出張される, 来られる), while forms like ✕ お来になる do not exist.
- Passive form (〜れる／〜られる)
- The verb shape is the same, but the sentence structure is different. Passive: 学生が先生に呼ばれました (The student was called by the teacher) — the subject receives the action and the doer takes に. Honorific: 先生が学生を呼ばれました (The teacher called the student) — the subject is the respected doer, and the object keeps を.
§5How this shows up on the JLPT
In N4 grammar-form questions, first check who does the action. If the subject is a teacher, boss, or customer and there is no に-marked doer, れる／られる is honorific, not passive. In reading and listening, this form helps you find whose action is being described even when the subject is left out. Also remember that the potential form of Group II verbs and 来る looks the same (来られる), so use the context.
§6Quick check (3 questions)
1. You respectfully ask what time the company president will return. Choose the correct honorific form: 社長は何時ごろ会社に＿＿か。
しゃちょうはなんじごろかいしゃに＿＿か。
2. Which sentence uses れる／られる to show respect, not as a passive?
3. Which sentence uses the honorific form correctly?