Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [transitivity]

他動性・自他対応. Whether or not verbs take a direct object as a complement. In Japanese, these objects are typically marked with the accusative case marker を.

Whether or not verbs take a direct object as a complement. (Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object, whereas transitive verbs do.) In Japanese, these objects are typically marked with the accusative case marker を.

Intransitive verbs are called 自動詞 and transitive verbs are called 他動詞 in Japanese.

See also

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とまる / とめる and such pairs of verbs

I'm a beginner in Japanese. At my classes I'm taught like this: とまる / とめる is a pair intransitive/transitive verb. This I understand and can memorize a table of such verbs. I can't help, though, notice a certain phonetic change pattern in all those…
Alexander
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What is going on grammatically with "Xを嫌いになる"?

I've observed native speakers use this construction (similarly with 好き). Does this mean that なる can be used transitively and take a direct object in some cases? Is this related to the idea that something becomes liked or disliked as an involuntary…
CAW
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Transitivity of suru-verbs and the causative form to turn intransitive suru verbs into transitive ones

Recently came upon sentences where the causative form is used to make a suru-verb a transitive one. eg. この城を完成させるのに、... Are all suru verbs, intransitive by default? If so, does this use of the causative form apply to all suru-verbs?
charu
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When to use を with 気になる

Most things I've seen claim that 気になる is an intransitive verb and that one major difference from 気にする is the transitivity. This includes examples from this site. However, a native speaker recently mentioned to me that 彼を気になる is fine. Upon further…
Ringil
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Can intransitive verbs be used in a transitive way with abstract objects?

Nearly all Japanese verbs are classified as either transitive or intransitive. However, I am wondering if there are cases where one can use an intransitive verb in a transitive way, especially in a humorous, poetic, or philosophical context. For…
Aqualone
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Existence of Transitive/intransitive pairs

I searched for the answer for this specific question of mine, but couldn't find it. So I'm sorry If I duplicated some thread. I was reading some stuff here about 自動詞 and 他動詞 and start wondering if all verbs in japanese come in…
Rafael D'Ávila
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Difference between 見忘れる and 忘れる

I was speaking with a friend of mine and said I learnt Japanese using some dictionaries and websites. But I forgot to mention that I also use grammar books, so I said: 忘れてた！日本語の文法書たくさんよんでいますね。 I forgot! I read many Japanese grammar books. She then…
crimsonspectre
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"広める" instead of "広まる" or "広められる" in this context?

I came across this sentence: 来年は、踊り子三百人をフランスに招いて、阿波踊りの魅力をもっと広めていくようです。 Stripping the sentence to basic sentence structure: 魅力を広めていく。 How can that be grammatically correct? As "広める" is transitive with an obvious object, there must be an actor…
david.t
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Is する in “どうしたの” and “どうかしたの” transitive or intransitive?

I have been learning Japanese for over a year and I still can’t understand how these very common phrases work grammatically. I do know of several intransitive usages of する but none seem to fit in these examples. する　in どうかしている is definitely…
美しい孤独
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By what rationale is わすれるconsidered transitive?

I continue to be puzzled by the distinction in Japanese between transitive (“other move”) and intransitive (“self move”) verbs. My understanding is that the primary determinant is the extent to which the grammatical object (if one exists) is…
justerman
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Are verbal nouns or suru verbs transitive, intransitive, both, or either depending on the verbal noun or suru verb?

Are verbal nouns or suru verb transitive, intransitive, both, or either depending on the verbal noun or suru verb? For example: if you had the suru verb 勉強する (study), could it have a direct object and therefore be intransitive/transitive? If verbal…
BurgBoi
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Something is broken

How do you say "Since this thing is broken, I need to buy a new one."? And, what are the differences between the following: この物が壊れましたから、新しいのを買わなきゃ。 この物が壊れています、新しいのをかわなきゃ。
450F
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Why is 流す used in ゴミがたくさん流されてきました instead of 流れる?

From 4m36s of https://youtu.be/N70t8hQCcPI?t=276, the speaker says ゴミがたくさん流されてきました This apparently translates to "A lot of trashed was washed up." My question is why 流す is being used here instead of 流れる? 流れる is an intransitive verb, and here the…
George
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transitive and intransitive verbs using を/が particle

Was studying Anki when i came across やっと難しい問題が解けった Instead of using the が particle, would it also be plausible to use the を particle here? I know that transitive sentences normally uses を and intransitive uses が, but how "wrong" (in terms of trying…
Newbie
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how to know a intransitive verb version of a verb?

I just watched a video* that explaining about transitive and intransitive verbs. it says intransitive verb in japanese usually has different form from transitive verb but it doesnt tell anything how to change a transitive verb or dictionary form…
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