Got caught in the rain—or dumped? Let’s talk about 迷惑の受身!

May 04, 2025

Have you ever come across a sentence like:

満員電車で足を踏まれました。
(Someone stepped on my foot in a crowded train — and it was annoying!)

It’s not just passive voice. It’s expressing inconvenience, annoyance, or even heartbreak.

Welcome to the world of 迷惑の受身 (meiwaku no ukemi) — the troublesome or adversity passive in Japanese.

What is 迷惑の受身？

In Japanese, passive forms aren’t just grammatical—they’re emotional.

迷惑の受身 is used when:

  • Something is done to you,

  • It was unwelcome,

  • And you want to express your displeasure, frustration, or emotional impact.

Here are three classic (and very human!) examples:

🌧️ 雨に降られた。

I got rained on.
You didn’t cause the rain, but it messed up your day. You're the victim here.

💔 彼女に振られた。

I was dumped by my girlfriend.
A painful emotional blow. Again, you're on the receiving end of an unwanted event.

🗂️ 案が却下された。

My proposal was rejected.
Even without saying who did it, the sentence clearly expresses disappointment.

So how is this different from regular passive?

Regular passive:

先生に褒められました。
I was praised by the teacher. (Neutral or positive.)

迷惑の受身:

弟にゲームを壊されました。
My little brother broke my game. (And I'm annoyed!)

In both cases, the grammar is similar. The difference lies in the emotional weight. 迷惑の受身 implies that the action caused inconvenience, emotional stress, or upset.

Structure Reminder

[Person affected] + は／が
[Doer] + に
[Object] + を
[Verb in passive form]

Note: Sometimes the “person,” “doer,” or “object” is omitted if it's unknown, unimportant, or too direct.

Why should you care?

Understanding and using 迷惑の受身 helps you:

  • Recognise emotional nuance in native speech

  • Express yourself more naturally in everyday situations

  • Sound empathetic and culturally appropriate

This is the kind of Japanese that doesn’t always show up in textbooks but appears all the time in real conversations, dramas, and even anime.

Quick Practice!

Can you turn this into a 迷惑の受身 sentence?

犬が私の靴を噛みました。（いぬが わたしの くつを かみました。）The dog chewed my shoes.

💡 Focus on how you were affected.

Share your answer in the comments!

That’s all for this week.

Keep going — you're doing great.