Causative Form in Japanese

Overview

The causative form expresses making or letting someone do something. It is one of the most important B1 grammar points because it encodes social dynamics -- authority, permission, and coercion -- directly into the verb. A parent making a child eat vegetables, a boss letting an employee leave early, a teacher having students read aloud: all of these require the causative.

Japanese distinguishes between coercive causative ("make someone do") and permissive causative ("let someone do") primarily through context and particle choice. The same verb form serves both meanings, which makes understanding the surrounding context essential.

The causative form also serves as the foundation for the causative-passive (being made to do something), which combines both forms into one of Japanese's most expressive constructions.

How It Works

Formation

Verb Class	Rule	Dictionary Form	Causative Form
Godan (五段)	Change -u to -a + せる	書く	書かせる
Godan	Change -u to -a + せる	読む	読ませる
Godan	Change -u to -a + せる	飲む	飲ませる
Godan	Change -u to -a + せる	待つ	待たせる
Ichidan (一段)	Drop -る, add -させる	食べる	食べさせる
Ichidan	Drop -る, add -させる	見る	見させる
Irregular	Special	する	させる
Irregular	Special	来る	来させる

Causative verbs conjugate as ichidan verbs (食べさせます, 食べさせない, 食べさせた, etc.).

Shortened causative forms

In casual speech, godan causative forms are often shortened:

Full Form	Shortened	Example
行かせる	行かす	Let/make go
飲ませる	飲ます	Let/make drink
待たせる	待たす	Let/make wait

These shortened forms are common in spoken Japanese but less appropriate in formal writing.

Particle choice and meaning

Nuance	Particle for causee	Example
Permission ("let")	に	子供に遊ばせる (let the child play)
Coercion ("make")	を	学生を立たせる (make the student stand)

When the verb is transitive (already has a を object), the causee takes に regardless:

• 母は私に野菜を食べさせた。 (Mother made me eat vegetables.)

Common structures

Structure	Meaning	Example
Causative + てください	Please let me	やらせてください (Please let me do it)
Causative + てもらう	Have someone let/make	帰らせてもらいます (I'll take my leave)
Causative + てあげる	Kindly let someone	やらせてあげる (I'll let them do it)

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
母は私に野菜を食べさせました。	My mother made me eat vegetables.	Coercion with transitive verb
先生は学生を立たせました。	The teacher made the student stand.	Coercion with intransitive verb
子供を遊ばせています。	I'm letting the children play.	Permission
好きなことをさせてください。	Please let me do what I like.	Request for permission
部長は部下に残業させた。	The manager made subordinates work overtime.	Workplace coercion
犬を自由に走らせた。	I let the dog run freely.	Permission for animal
お客さんを待たせないでください。	Please don't make the customer wait.	Negative request
子供に好きなものを選ばせます。	I let the child choose what they like.	Permission with transitive
すみません、先に帰らせていただけますか。	Excuse me, may I leave early?	Very polite request
彼女を泣かせてしまった。	I made her cry.	Unintentional causation

Common Mistakes

Confusing coercion and permission particles

• Wrong: 子供を好きなことをさせる。 (double を)
• Right: 子供に好きなことをさせる。
• Why: When the verb already has a を object, the causee must take に. You cannot have two を in the same clause.

Using the wrong causative formation for ichidan verbs

• Wrong: 食べせる
• Right: 食べさせる
• Why: Ichidan verbs take -させる (with さ), not -せる. The さ is part of the ichidan causative ending.

Forgetting the social implications

• Wrong: 先生に宿題をさせました。 (making the teacher do homework)
• Right: 先生は私たちに宿題をさせました。 (the teacher made us do homework)
• Why: Causative implies authority over the causee. Using it for someone of higher status sounds inappropriate unless the context clearly justifies it.

Confusing causative and passive

• Wrong: 食べさせる when meaning "was eaten"
• Right: 食べさせる means "make/let eat"; 食べられる means "was eaten" (passive) or "can eat" (potential)
• Why: Causative (-させる) and passive (-られる) have different endings and completely different meanings.

Usage Notes

The causative form carries significant social weight. Using it implies a power relationship between the causer and the causee. In workplace and family contexts, this is natural and expected. However, be cautious about using causative forms when speaking about people of equal or higher status -- it can sound presumptuous.

The polite request pattern させていただく is one of the most formal expressions in business Japanese. It literally means "receive the favor of being allowed to do" and is used when asking for permission from superiors or in customer service contexts.

In casual speech, the shortened forms (行かす, 飲ます) are widespread and perfectly natural. You will hear them constantly in daily conversation.

Practice Tips

• Think about your daily routines and identify situations where someone makes or lets you do something. Construct causative sentences for each scenario.
• Practice the permission vs. coercion distinction by creating pairs of sentences with the same verb but different particles and contexts.
• Master the させていただく pattern early, as it appears in nearly every Japanese workplace and formal setting.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Potential Form -- understanding verb conjugation classes prepares you for causative formation
• Next steps: Causative-Passive -- combines causative and passive to express being forced to do something
• Next steps: Permissive Causative -- focuses on the "letting" nuance of causative with giving/receiving verbs