自動詞(intransitive verb) and 他動詞(transitive verb)

What’s 自動詞(intransitive verb)?

自動詞 are verbs that describe an action that occurs by itself without needing a direct object. The action is self-contained and does not act upon anything else.

🌟自動詞 often use particles like が (ga) and に (ni).

Examples:

• 泣く (なく, naku) – to cry
子供が泣く。 (The child cries.)

• 行く (いく, iku) – to go
彼が学校に行く。 (He goes to school.)

• 起きる (おきる, okiru) – to wake up
母が早く起きる。 (My mother wakes up early.)

Examples of 自動詞
開く (あく, aku) – to open
閉まる (しまる, shimaru) – to close
起きる (おきる, okiru) – to wake up, to get up
寝る (ねる, neru) – to sleep
入る (はいる, hairu) – to enter
出る (でる, deru) – to exit, to leave
落ちる (おちる, ochiru) – to fall
降りる (おりる, oriru) – to descend, to get off
登る (のぼる, noboru) – to climb
飛ぶ (とぶ, tobu) – to fly
泳ぐ (およぐ, oyogu) – to swim
走る (はしる, hashiru) – to run
歩く (あるく, aruku) – to walk
座る (すわる, suwaru) – to sit
立つ (たつ, tatsu) – to stand
消える (きえる, kieru) – to disappear, to vanish
現れる (あらわれる, arawareru) – to appear
壊れる (こわれる, kowareru) – to break, to be broken
割れる (われる, wareru) – to break, to be smashed
燃える (もえる, moeru) – to burn
冷える (ひえる, hieru) – to become cold
温まる (あたたまる, atatamaru) – to warm up
乾く (かわく, kawaku) – to dry
濡れる (ぬれる, nureru) – to get wet
咲く (さく, saku) – to bloom
鳴る (なる, naru) – to ring, to sound
消える (きえる, kieru) – to disappear, to be extinguished
揺れる (ゆれる, yureru) – to shake, to sway

What’s 他動詞(transitive verb)?

他動詞 are verbs that require a direct object to complete their meaning. The action of the verb is performed on something or someone.

🌟他動詞 often use the particle を (wo) to mark the direct object.

Examples:

• 食べる (たべる, taberu) – to eat
　 彼がパンを食べる。 (He eats bread.)

• 書く (かく, kaku) – to write
　 彼女が手紙を書く。 (She writes a letter.)

• 読む (よむ, yomu) – to read
　 私が本を読む。 (I read a book.)

Examples of 他動詞

開ける (あける, akeru) – to open (something)
閉める (しめる, shimeru) – to close (something)
入れる (いれる, ireru) – to put in, to insert
出す (だす, dasu) – to take out, to put out
落とす (おとす, otosu) – to drop (something)
降ろす (おろす, orosu) – to take down, to lower
消す (けす, kesu) – to erase, to turn off
出す (だす, dasu) – to put out, to publish
壊す (こわす, kowasu) – to break (something)
割る (わる, waru) – to break, to split
燃やす (もやす, moyasu) – to burn (something)
冷やす (ひやす, hiyasu) – to cool (something)
温める (あたためる, atatameru) – to warm (something) up
…

Context and Clarify

自動詞 (Intransitive Verbs) in Context:

自動詞 focus on actions or states that do not directly act upon an object. These verbs describe what happens to the subject itself, and the action does not transfer to another entity. The context usually centers around the subject and what happens to it.

Examples:

1. 子供が泣く。 (The child cries.)
• Here, “泣く” (to cry) is a self-contained action. The focus is on the child and the action of crying, with no direct object being affected.

2. 花が咲く。 (The flowers bloom.)
• “咲く” (to bloom) describes the action of the flowers. The flowers themselves are the subject and are performing the action of blooming.

3. ドアが開く。 (The door opens.)
• “開く” (to open) indicates that the door opens by itself. The focus is on the door and its state of being open, not on who or what opens it.

他動詞 (Transitive Verbs) in Context:

他動詞 require a direct object to complete their meaning. The action described by the verb is performed by the subject onto the object. The context usually involves a clear subject performing an action on a clear object.

Examples:

1. 彼女がパンを食べる。 (She eats bread.)
• “食べる” (to eat) is an action performed by “彼女” (she) onto “パン” (bread). The action directly affects the bread, making it the object of the verb.

2. 彼女が手紙を書く。 (She writes a letter.)
• “書く” (to write) requires “手紙” (a letter) as its object. The action of writing is performed by “彼女” (she) on “手紙” (the letter).

3. 私が本を読む。 (I read a book.)
• “読む” (to read) involves “本” (a book) as the object. “私” (I) performs the action of reading on “本” (the book).

Clarification with Verb Pairs

Some verbs exist in pairs, where one is 自動詞 and the other is 他動詞. Understanding how each verb functions within a sentence can help clarify their usage.

Examples:

1. 開く (あく, intransitive) vs. 開ける (あける, transitive)
• ドアが開く。 (The door opens.)
　　“開く” is intransitive; the door is opening by itself.

• 私がドアを開ける。 (I open the door.)
　　“開ける” is transitive; I am performing the action of opening the door.

2. 閉まる (しまる, intransitive) vs. 閉める (しめる, transitive)
• 店が閉まる。 (The shop closes.)
　 “閉まる” is intransitive; the shop is closing by itself or is in the state of being closed.

• 店員が店を閉める。 (The clerk closes the shop.)
　 “閉める” is transitive; the clerk is performing the action of closing the shop.

3. 落ちる (おちる, intransitive) vs. 落とす (おとす, transitive)
• 葉が落ちる。 (The leaves fall.)
　 “落ちる” is intransitive; the leaves fall by themselves.

• 彼がスマホを落とす。 (He drops the phone.)
　 “落とす” is transitive; he performs the action of dropping the phone.

Examples of 自動詞and他動詞 pairs

(自動詞↔︎他動詞)

入ります↔︎入れます
出ます↔︎出します
生まれます↔︎生みます
売れます↔︎売ります
開きます↔︎開けます
閉まります↔︎閉めます
つきます↔︎つけます
消えます↔︎消します
壊れます↔︎壊します
折れます↔︎折ります
破れます↔︎破ります
汚れます↔︎汚します
外れます↔︎外します
止まります↔︎止めます
落ちます↔︎落とします
かかります↔︎かけます
片付きます↔︎片付けます
始まります↔︎始めます
気がつきます↔︎気をつけます
見つかります↔︎見つけます
変わります↔︎変えます
なおります↔︎なおします
倒れます↔︎倒します
増えます↔︎増やします
減ります↔︎減らします
上がります↔︎上げます
下がります↔︎下げます
切れます↔︎切ります
落ちます↔︎落とします
なくなります↔︎なくします
乾きます↔︎乾かします
届きます↔︎届けます
焼けます↔︎燃きます
燃えます↔︎燃やします
集まります↔︎集めます

Summary

• 自動詞 (Intransitive Verbs): Focus on the action/state of the subject itself. No direct object is needed.
• 他動詞 (Transitive Verbs): Require a direct object. The action is performed by the subject onto the object.