< Japanese < Grammar

Many Japanese verbs have pairs of transitive and intransitive verbs. Formally, the difference between these is that a transitive verb can take on a direct object, whereas an intransitive verb can not. There are a few pairs of distinct verbs in English that correlate to this: "raise"/"rise", "fell"/"fall" and "lay"/"lie".

This is best explained by example. Contrast the following two sentences:

EnglishVerbJapanese
Transitive (I) close the door.閉める (しめる)ドアを閉める。
Intransitive The door closes.閉まる (しまる)ドアが閉まる。
Transitive The teacher starts the class.始める (はじめる)先生が授業を始める。
Intransitive The class starts.始まる (はじまる)授業が始まる。
Transitive The sun melts the ice.溶かす（とかす）太陽が氷を溶かす。
Intransitive The ice melts.溶ける（とける）氷が溶ける。

The general patterns for transitive and intransitive sentences is:

(<subject> は/が)<direct object> を/が<transitive verb>。
<subject> が<intransitive verb>。

The topics of intransitive verbs are usually inanimate.

Some pairings are listed in the following table:

自動詞(じどうし) (intransitive verb) 他動詞(たどうし) (transitive verb)
-eru → -asu
to go out出(で)る deru 出(だ)す dasu to get out
to escape逃(に)げる nigeru 逃(にが)す nigasu to let escape
to melt 溶(と)ける tokeru 溶(と)かす tokasu to melt something
to wither 枯(か)れる kareru 枯(か)らす karasu to let wither
-eru → -yasu
to increase (by self)増える fueru増やす fuyasuto increase (something else)
to cool down (by self)冷える hieru冷やす hiyasuto cool something down
to grow生える haeru生やす hayasuto grow something
-iru → -osu
to wake up起きる okiru起こす okosuto wake somebody up
to get off降りる oriru降ろす orosuto offload
to fall落ちる ochiru落とす otosuto let fall
to elapse (time)過ぎる sugiru過ごす sugosuto spend (time)
-u → -asu
to decline減る heru減らす herasuto decrease something
to boil沸く waku沸かす wakasuto bring something to a boil
to dry (self)乾く kawaku乾かす kawakasuto dry something
to be glad喜ぶ yorokobu喜ばす yorokobasuto cheer somebody
-u → -eru
to get open開く aku開ける akeruto open something
to reach届く todoku届ける todokeruto deliver
to grow up育つ sodatsu育てる sodateruto rear
to stand立つ tatsu立てる tateruto stand up
-ru → -seru
to board乗る noru乗せる noseruto let board
to approach寄る yoru寄せる yoseruto let near
-ru → -su
to return返る kaeru返す kaesuto bring back
to go through通る tōru通す tōsuto let through
to turn (by self)回る mawaru回す mawasuto turn something
to get repaired直る naoru直す naosuto repair
to cross渡る wataru渡す watasuto bring to the other side
-reru → -su
to break up離れる hanareru離す hanasuto separate
to disengage外れる hazureru外す hazusuto release
to tumble倒れる taoreru倒す taosuto overthrow
to become dirty汚れる yogoreru汚す yogosuto dirty
to appear現れる arawareru現す arawasuto let appear
to get broken壊れる kowareru壊す kowasuto break
-aru → -eru
to be decided決まる kimaru決める kimeruto decide
to close閉まる shimaru閉める shimeruto close something
to gather集まる atsumaru集める atsumeruto collect
to begin始まる hajimaru始める hajimeruto begin something
to be found見付かる mitsukaru見付ける mitsukeruto find something
to hang掛かる kakaru掛ける kakeruto hang something up
to be saved助かる tasukaru助ける tasukeruto save
-waru → -eru
to change (yourself)変わる kawaru変える kaeruto change something
to join加わる kuwawaru加える kuwaeruto add
-eru → -u
to burn焼ける yakeru焼く yakuto burn something
to be sold売れる ureru売る uruto sell
to come out抜ける nukeru抜く nukuto draw out
to come loose解ける hodokeru解く hodokuto loosen
others
to be visible見える mieru見る miruto see
to be audible聞こえる kikoeru聞く kikuto hear
to extinguish消える kieru消す kesuto delete
to enter入る hairu入れる ireruto put in
to end終わる owaru終える／終わる oeru/owaruto end something
to becomeなる naruする suruto do

The rule of thumb is that intransitive verbs usually take nouns with the particles 「が」(ga) or 「は」(wa) that act as subjects, whereas transitive verbs take object nouns marked with 「を」(o). Transitive verbs can also take a ga-subject or wa-subject, although it may be omitted. Note that some intransitive verbs can take an o-object that indicates a location. For example, 出る ("to leave") can be used with a direct object that is a location from which the subject is to leave from. See the table below for more examples:

EnglishVerbJapanese
Transitive with を (I) took out my wallet from my bag.出す（だす）財布をカバンから出した。
Transitive with は and を I took out my wallet from my bag.出す（だす）私は財布をカバンから出した。
Intransitive with を (I) left home.出る（でる）家を出た。
Intransitive with は and を I left home.出る（でる）私は家を出た。

See also

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