Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 66th issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!

Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs in Japanese

Transitive verbs act on something (they need an object).
Intransitive verbs act by themselves (no object needed).

Table of Contents

1. What Is Transitivity?

2. Transitivity Verb Pairs

3. Particles を and が

4. Differences Between English and Japanese

5. When Intransitive Verbs Use を

6. Summary Table

1. What Is Transitivity?

Transitivity = whether a verb transfers energy to an object.

Japanese terms:

• 他動詞（たどうし）= transitive ("other-verb")

• 自動詞（じどうし）= intransitive ("self-verb")

2. Transitivity Verb Pairs

Many verbs in Japanese come in pairs with one transitive and one intransitive form.

3. Particles を and が

Particles help identify verb type:

• を = follows object (used with transitive verbs)

• が = follows subject (used with intransitive verbs)

📌 Example:

Transitive
キャメロンが電気をつけた。
Cameron turned on the light.

Intransitive
電気がつきました。
The light turned on.

However, particles can be omitted in natural speech, so always check the verb dictionary form or pair structure to confirm.

4. Differences Between English and Japanese

English uses syntactic transitivity (based on object presence).
Japanese uses semantic transitivity (based on what is acted upon).

📌 Example:

English
Jenny understands French.
→ “Understand” is transitive.

Japanese
ジェニーはフランス語が分かる。
→ “French” isn’t acted on, so intransitive. Particle が marks subject.

Other examples:

• かなえはフランス語の教科書があります。
  Kanae has a French textbook.

• まみはカナダ人の友達がいる。
  Mami has Canadian friends.

ある / いる are intransitive → use が, not を.

5. When Intransitive Verbs Use を

Even though intransitive verbs usually use が, there are exceptions:

A. When there's Intention or Focus

Sometimes you’ll see を used for nuance or focus:

• フランス語を分かるようになった。
  Became able to understand French.

• うにが食べたい。
  I want to eat sea urchin. (spontaneous craving)

• うにを食べたい。
  I want to eat sea urchin. (intent to act now)

B. With Movement Verbs

Verbs like 歩く (walk), 泳ぐ (swim), 上がる (go up) are intransitive, but:

• 熊野古道を歩いた。
  Walked the Kumano trail.

• イギリス海峡を泳いだ。
  Swam the English Channel.

Here, を marks the path, not an object. The path is not affected—hence, the verb stays intransitive.

 C. With 上がる (to go up)

• ガソリンの値段が上がった。
  Gas prices went up. (spontaneous rise → intransitive)

• まちこは坂を上がった。
  Machiko went up the hill. (intentional motion → intransitive, path marked with を)

6. Summary Table: Transitive vs. Intransitive

That’s all folks!

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)

Have a great Sunday!