Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

What are Transitive and Intransitive Verbs?

In Japanese, verbs are often divided into two categories based on how the action happens: Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs .

• Transitive Verbs represent actions that someone or something does to an object. There is an active agent causing the action. (e.g., "I open the door.")
• Intransitive Verbs represent actions that happen by themselves, or states of being. There is no direct object being acted upon. (e.g., "The door opens.")

In English, we often use the exact same verb for both situations. You can say "I broke the cup" and "The cup broke." In Japanese, however, these are completely different, albeit closely related, verbs. You must use a specific verb depending on whether you are actively causing the event or simply describing something that is happening.

Particles Making the Difference

The easiest way to tell these verbs apart in a sentence is by looking at the particles used with them. For a deeper overview of how particles connect the elements of a sentence, see the guide on Introduction to Japanese Particles.

Transitive Verbs take を

Because transitive verbs act upon a direct object, they almost always take the direct object particle . The subject of the sentence (the one doing the action) is often marked by or .

Intransitive Verbs take が

Because intransitive verbs describe something happening naturally or changing state, there is no direct object. The thing undergoing the change is the subject of the sentence, marked by (or as a topic marker).

Common Verb Pairs

Many of the most frequently used verbs in Japanese come in transitive/intransitive pairs. They usually share the same kanji root but have different hiragana endings.

Opening and Closing

Breaking and Fixing

Starting and Stopping

Moving Things (In and Out)

(Note: Movement verbs like sometimes use to indicate the place you are leaving, but the verb itself remains intransitive because you are not acting upon the room.)

Turning On and Off

Describing States with the て-Form

You will frequently see transitive and intransitive verbs used with the te-form to describe ongoing states. If you need a refresher on how to create these conjugations, see Connect ideas with the て-Form.

When you want to say that something is currently in a certain state as a natural result of an action, you use the intransitive verb + ている.

(It is in a closed state. We don't know who closed it, or it doesn't matter.)

If you want to emphasize that someone purposely put something into a state and left it that way, you use the transitive verb + てある. Notice that even though it is a transitive verb, the particle changes to here because you are describing the state of the object, not the action of the person.

Study Tips

Learning the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs is a gradual process. You do not need to memorize every single pair right away.

Instead of trying to learn lists of vocabulary out of context, try to notice the patterns when reading or listening. You will eventually get a natural feel for which verb sounds right in which situation. When you learn a new verb, simply pay attention to whether it takes or in example sentences.

Getting enough exposure through A Practical Guide to Language Immersion is the most effective way to internalize these verbs. Over time, saying will start to sound as inherently wrong to you as saying "I arrived the book" in English.