How Can You Tell the Four Meanings of 「られる」 Apart? Passive, Potential, Spontaneous, and Honorific Explained

When studying Japanese, you will see 「られる」 again and again.

But this form can be very tricky.

先生にほめられました。
I was praised by the teacher.

漢字が読めます。
I can read kanji.

昔のことが思い出されます。
Old memories naturally come back to me.

社長はもう帰られました。
The president has already gone home.

These forms may look similar, but they do not all have the same meaning.

Is it passive?
Is it potential?
Is it spontaneous?
Or is it honorific?

If this point remains unclear, both reading and conversation can become vague and uncertain.

However, there is no need to panic.

「られる」 becomes much easier to understand when you separate its meanings instead of trying to memorize everything as one shape.

In this article, we will organize the four main meanings of 「られる」: passive, potential, spontaneous, and honorific. We will also look at practical ways to tell them apart with examples.

First, the conclusion: think of 「られる」 in four categories

When you see 「られる」, first consider these four possibilities.

1. Passive
2. Potential
3. Spontaneous
4. Honorific

If you remember all four as simply “similar-looking forms,” you will almost certainly get confused.

The important points are these:

1. Who is the subject?
2. Is there another person or agent doing the action?
3. Is the sentence closer to “be done to,” “can do,” “naturally feel,” or “respectfully describe someone’s action”?

Even when the form looks the same, the meaning changes depending on the viewpoint of the sentence.

1. Passive 「られる」

The passive meaning of 「られる」 means that someone or something receives an action from someone else.

Examples

私は先生にほめられました。
I was praised by the teacher.

弟は母にしかられました。
My younger brother was scolded by our mother.

その絵は多くの人に愛されています。
That painting is loved by many people.

In this use, the subject is the side that receives the action.

Another person performs the action, and the person or thing affected by that action becomes the subject.

How to recognize it

Passive sentences often include 「に」.

先生にほめられる
to be praised by the teacher

母にしかられる
to be scolded by one’s mother

友だちに呼ばれる
to be called by a friend

This 「に」 often shows the person who performs the action, so it is a very useful clue.

Image

The passive has the feeling that something comes from outside.

Someone does something
→ I or something else receives that action

When you can see this flow, first consider the passive meaning.

2. Potential 「られる」

The potential meaning expresses “can do.”

Examples

私はピアノが弾けます。
I can play the piano.

この漢字はまだ読めません。
I cannot read this kanji yet.

忙しくても、日曜日なら来られます。
Even if I am busy, I can come on Sunday.

Here, the focus is not on “being acted upon by someone.”

The focus is whether someone has the ability or possibility to do something.

How to recognize it

The potential meaning can often be rephrased with 「できる」.

来られます
can come

食べられます
can eat

見られます
can see / can watch

For example:

明日は来られます。
I can come tomorrow.

明日は来ることができます。
I am able to come tomorrow.

If the sentence can naturally be rephrased with 「できる」, it is probably potential.

Important note

In modern Japanese, not all potential forms use 「られる」.

For ichidan verbs and 来る, 「られる」 appears:

食べる → 食べられる
to eat → can eat

見る → 見られる
to see → can see

来る → 来られる
to come → can come

But for many godan verbs, the normal potential form is different:

読む → 読める
to read → can read

弾く → 弾ける
to play → can play

話す → 話せる
to speak → can speak

So, 「漢字が読まれます」 usually sounds passive or honorific depending on context, not natural potential. For potential, 「漢字が読めます」 is more natural.

Image

Potential means that an ability or condition opens up.

cannot do
→ can do

Unlike the passive, the focus is not on an outside action. The focus is on the ability or possibility of the subject.

3. Spontaneous 「られる」

The spontaneous meaning expresses that something is naturally felt, remembered, or thought.

For learners, this use can be hard to notice, but it often appears in reading passages.

Examples

故郷のことが思い出されます。
Memories of my hometown naturally come back to me.

将来のことが案じられます。
I cannot help feeling worried about the future.

その映画を見ると、人生の大切さが感じられます。
When I watch that movie, I naturally feel the importance of life.

In this use, the speaker is not actively trying to do something by strong intention.

Rather, a feeling or thought naturally arises.

How to recognize it

Spontaneous 「られる」 often appears with words related to feelings, memory, thought, or perception.

思い出される
to naturally be remembered / to come back to mind

感じられる
to be felt

案じられる
to feel worried

偲ばれる
to be reminded of / to be fondly remembered

The nuance is not “I intentionally do this,” but “it naturally happens in my mind.”

Image

Spontaneous 「られる」 feels like something naturally appears in the heart or mind.

The speaker is not strongly controlling the action.

The feeling moves naturally.

This is the biggest difference from passive and potential meanings.

4. Honorific 「られる」

The honorific meaning is used to respectfully describe another person’s action.

Examples

先生はもう帰られました。
The teacher has already gone home.

社長は明日大阪へ行かれます。
The company president will go to Osaka tomorrow.

お客様は何時ごろ来られますか。
About what time will the customer come?

Here, 「られる」 is not passive and not potential.

It is used to show respect toward the subject.

How to recognize it

Honorific 「られる」 often has a subject who is socially higher or someone the speaker wants to show respect to.

先生
teacher

社長
company president

部長
department manager

お客様
customer / guest

Also, the sentence describes that person actually doing the action.

先生が帰られる
The teacher goes home.

社長が話される
The president speaks.

お客様が来られる
The customer comes.

This does not mean “someone goes home to the teacher” or “the teacher is made to go home.”

It means the action itself is described respectfully.

Image

In the honorific use, the key point is not the action itself, but the relationship between people.

To judge the meaning, ask:

Who is the sentence about?

If the subject is someone respected and the sentence describes that person’s action, it may be honorific.

A simple way to tell the four meanings apart

When you see 「られる」, try checking in this order.

1. Is the subject someone respected?

If the subject is 先生, 社長, お客様, or another respected person, and the sentence respectfully describes that person’s action, it is likely honorific.

先生は来られました。
The teacher came.

社長が話されました。
The president spoke.

2. Can it be rephrased as 「できる」?

If it can naturally be rephrased as 「できる」, it is potential.

明日は来られます。
I can come tomorrow.

この字は読めます。
I can read this character.

3. Is someone receiving an action from someone else?

If the sentence means that someone receives an action from another person, it is passive.

先生にほめられた。
I was praised by the teacher.

母に起こされた。
I was woken up by my mother.

4. Does it mean a feeling naturally arises?

If the verb is related to thinking, feeling, remembering, or sensing, and the feeling naturally arises, it is spontaneous.

昔のことが思い出される。
Old memories come back to me.

不安が感じられる。
I naturally feel uneasy.

Points that learners often confuse

Passive and potential look similar in form

For example, 「見られる」 can have different meanings depending on context.

犬に見られた。
I was seen by a dog.

富士山が見られる。
Mt. Fuji can be seen.

The first sentence is passive.

The dog saw me, so I received the action of being seen.

The second sentence is potential.

It means that it is possible to see Mt. Fuji.

Even if the form is the same, you cannot decide the meaning without looking at what is happening in the sentence.

Honorific and passive can also be confusing

社長は新聞を読まれました。
The company president read the newspaper.

This is honorific.

The subject is 社長, and the action 読む is being described respectfully.

On the other hand:

社長は部下にほめられました。
The company president was praised by his subordinate.

This is passive.

The subordinate is the person who praises, and the president receives the action.

So it is important to check whether there is 「に」, who the subject is, and who is actually doing the action.

Spontaneous meaning is hard if you only memorize the grammar term

The word “spontaneous” may sound difficult.

But if you think of it as “naturally feel” or “cannot help but think,” it becomes much easier.

春になると、学生時代が思い出されます。
When spring comes, my student days naturally come back to me.

この写真を見ると、家族のありがたさが感じられます。
When I look at this photo, I naturally feel grateful for my family.

The speaker is not forcing themselves to remember or feel something.

The feeling naturally comes up.

That is the spontaneous meaning.

How to remember 「られる」 for exams

The easiest way is to remember four simple paraphrases.

受け身
being done to

可能
can do

自発
naturally feel / naturally think

尊敬
respectfully describe someone’s action

Even just trying to rephrase the sentence in these ways can make the meaning much clearer.

In grammar questions, if you judge only by the shape, you will get confused.

If you judge by meaning, the distinction becomes much easier.

Summary

「られる」 is one of the big challenges for Japanese learners.

But the difficult part is that the form looks the same.

The meanings themselves can be organized clearly.

Check these four points:

1. Is someone receiving an action?
2. Does it mean “can do”?
3. Does a feeling naturally arise?
4. Is the action of a respected person being described politely?

If you check these points one by one, 「られる」 becomes much easier to understand.

Grammar becomes stronger when you separate similar forms by meaning instead of memorizing them vaguely.

Once the four meanings of 「られる」 become clear, your reading and conversation will become much more stable.

If you want to organize confusing Japanese grammar through examples and practice questions, try learning with RJT. You can move beyond vague intuition and build a clearer sense of how Japanese grammar is used.

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