N4 · Unit 11
Lesson 43Cause or allow an action and describe ease
Express causing or allowing another person to act and evaluate whether an action is easy or difficult.
What you learn
Express causing or allowing another person to act and evaluate whether an action is easy or difficult.
Learning points
- Causative forms
- Requesting permission
- Ease and difficulty
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
人は 人を 自動詞使役形 ・ 人は 人に Nを 他動詞使役形 ・ 人は 人に 動詞使役受身形 ・ 動詞使役て + ください ・ 動詞ます語幹 + やすいです / にくいですBeginner explanation
Causative forms mean making, directing, or allowing someone to act. With an intransitive base verb, the person acting normally takes を. When the base verb already has an object, that person takes に and the object keeps を. A causative-passive means being made to act. Use 〜させてください to request permission for your own action. Add やすい or にくい to the ます-stem to say an action is easy or difficult.
Understand these sentences first
- 先生は 学生を 立たせました。sensei wa gakusei o tatasemashita
The teacher made the student stand.
- 母は 子供に 野菜を 食べさせました。haha wa kodomo ni yasai o tabesasemashita
The mother made the child eat vegetables.
- 私は 子供の 時、毎日 野菜を 食べさせられました。watashi wa kodomo no toki, mainichi yasai o tabesaseraremashita
As a child, I was made to eat vegetables every day.
- 会議で 私に 説明させて ください。kaigi de watashi ni setsumei sasete kudasai
Please let me explain at the meeting.
Core vocabulary
- 留学させますりゅうがくさせますsend someone to study abroad
- 休ませますやすませますlet someone rest
- 書かせますかかせますmake someone write
- 食べさせられますたべさせられますbe made to eat
- 書きやすいかきやすいeasy to write
- 分かりにくいわかりにくいhard to understand
- 部下ぶかsubordinate
- 気分きぶんcondition; mood
Grammar, one point at a time
Causative forms follow three verb-group patterns and cause or allow someone to act
Vない形の語幹 + せる／させるFor group-1 verbs, replace ない in the negative form with せる. Group-2 verbs replace る with させる. 来る becomes 来させる and する becomes させる.
Examples
- 書く → 書かせるwrite → make or let write
- 食べる → 食べさせるeat → make or let eat
- 来る → 来させるcome → make or let come
Intransitive causative: the person acting normally takes を
A は Bを 自動詞の使役形When the base clause has no direct object, the person made or allowed to move, rest, travel, or study abroad normally takes を. Context and relationship decide whether it is compulsion or permission.
Examples
- 部長は 李さんを 出張させます。The manager is sending Li on a business trip.
- 田中さんは 子供を 公園で 遊ばせています。Tanaka lets the child play in the park.
- 陳さんは 息子を アメリカに 留学させます。Chen is sending his son to study in the United States.
Transitive causative: the person acting takes に and the original object keeps を
A は Bに Nを 他動詞の使役形To avoid two を-marked phrases in one clause, the person carrying out the action takes に.
Examples
- 部長は 太田さんに レポートを 書かせました。The manager made Ota write a report.
- 先生は 学生に この本を 読ませます。The teacher makes the students read this book.
- 母は 子供に スープを 温めさせました。The mother had the child heat the soup.
Causative morphology does not automatically mean force; it can mark orders, arrangements, permission, or allowing
V(さ)せるA superior assigning work often means direct or require, while a parent allowing play may mean let. Examine control, willingness, and tone, adding 自由に, 本人の希望で, or 無理に when needed.
Examples
- 本人の 希望で、海外へ 留学させました。They allowed the person to study abroad at their own request.
- 無理に 残業させては いけません。You must not force someone to work overtime.
The causative-passive says the person was made or required to act
V(さ)せられるGroup-1 full forms include 書かせられる, with conversational contractions such as 書かされる. Group-2 uses 食べさせられる. It often conveys reluctance but can describe strict training objectively.
Examples
- 選手は 監督に 走らされました。The athlete was made to run by the coach.
- 子供の時、毎日 野菜を 食べさせられました。As a child, I was made to eat vegetables every day.
- 学生は 例文を 暗記させられました。The students were made to memorize example sentences.
させてください asks permission for the speaker to act
私に／私を V(さ)せて くださいThe subject is usually omitted. For emphasis, an intransitive actor may take 私を and a transitive actor 私に. It is a request, not proof that permission has been granted.
Examples
- 少し 休ませて ください。Please let me rest for a while.
- この仕事は 私に やらせて ください。Please let me do this job.
- この自転車を 使わせて ください。Please let me use this bicycle.
Verb stem + やすい or にくい evaluates how easy or difficult an action is
Vます形の語幹 + やすい／にくいIt evaluates a tendency created by an item, environment, or condition, not a guarantee that a particular person can or cannot act. Avoid fixed ability judgments from body type, age, or nationality.
Examples
- このペンは 書きやすいです。This pen is easy to write with.
- この説明は 専門語が 多くて、分かりにくいです。This explanation is hard to understand because it uses many technical terms.
- 雨の日は 道が 滑りやすいです。Roads are prone to being slippery on rainy days.
Expressions and situations
お手伝い comes from the stem of 手伝います used as a noun with polite お
Some verb stems function as nouns, including 休み, 考え, 申し出, 持ち帰り, and 乗り換え. Not every verb can be nominalized mechanically.
- お手伝い しましょうか。Shall I help?
- 乗り換えは 2回です。There are two transfers.
行ってもらう is a request or commission; 行かせる is a direct arrangement or order
The former frames the action as help received and is usually softer. The latter foregrounds control. In workplaces, choose according to authority, consultation, and the person's wishes.
- 森さんに 行ってもらいましょう。Let's ask Mori to go.
- 森さんを 行かせる予定です。The plan is to send Mori.
～のではないでしょうか softens an opinion through a negative question
It is similar to might it not be and suits suggestions or inferences. It does not imply agreement.
- 別の名前の ほうが 分かりやすいのでは ないでしょうか。Might another name be easier to understand?
- 試作品を もう一度 テストしたほうが いいのでは ないでしょうか。Might it be better to test the prototype once more?
ぐっと marks a sharp increase in degree, forceful action, or noticeable change
It is common in conversation and advertising, but a commercial claim of dramatic improvement requires reasonable evidence.
- デザインが ぐっと 分かりやすく なりました。The design became much clearer.
- ロープを ぐっと 引きました。I pulled the rope firmly.
Formal spoken Japanese prioritizes clarity and consistency rather than copying casual speech
Presentations may use 言うまでもなく, ～のではないでしょうか, やはり, and など, while もちろん, ～んじゃない, やっぱり, and なんか are more casual.
- 言うまでもなく、品質は 重要です。Needless to say, quality is important.
- 別の方法も 検討すべきでは ないでしょうか。Should we not also consider another method?
Computer vocabulary changes: recognize floppy disks and CD-ROM as historical terms and follow the current system for operations
Windows, Mac, USB, download, install, save, and attachment remain common, while interface labels and security steps change. Do not follow an old screenshot for downloads or installation.
- ファイルを 保存して、メールに 添付します。I will save the file and attach it to an email.
Before using a product name, search identical and similar trademark readings and check goods or service classes
INPIT's J-PlatPat supports searches by text, pronunciation, and similar readings. No search result does not automatically grant rights; obtain professional advice for complex cases.
- 候補名を J-PlatPatで 調べます。I will search the candidate name in J-PlatPat.
Labels such as for women, for men, or for young people are not sales evidence; research actual needs first
UN Women calls on advertising to eliminate harmful gender stereotypes. Segment products through voluntary research, use cases, and verified needs rather than using gender as a proxy for interests or ability.
- 性別だけで 好みを 決めつけません。We do not assume preferences from gender alone.
Claims such as better, easier, or consumers will definitely like it require reasonable evidence
Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency prohibits representations that make quality or specifications appear substantially better than reality. Present prototypes, user testing, and the data scope explicitly.
- この結果は 20人の テストに 基づいています。This result is based on a test with twenty people.
What you should be able to do
- Convert 16 representative verbs to causative forms and make polite and negative forms.
- Choose を or に for the actor according to whether the base verb has an object.
- Interpret one causative sentence in order, arrangement, permission, and allowing contexts.
- Rewrite causatives as causative-passives and judge whether reluctance is conveyed.
- Make three permission requests with させてください and state that a request is not approval.
- Complete an original product presentation covering user needs, usability testing, inclusion, trademark search, evidence for claims, and approval records.
Culture and real use
A product presentation should not rely on coercion or stereotypes: names, designs, and claims must be verifiable
Causative forms may express orders, arrangements, permission, or allowing, so workplace and family contexts should state authority, willingness, and the ability to refuse rather than disguising coercion as routine arrangement. Product presentations likewise need evidence. A user group cannot be invented solely from gender, age, or nationality; UN Women calls on advertising to eliminate harmful gender stereotypes. Product names should be tested for readability and multilingual comprehension and searched in INPIT's J-PlatPat by text, pronunciation, similar readings, and relevant goods or service classes. When claiming easier use, greater durability, or certain consumer preference, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency requires reasonable supporting evidence; a subjective prototype impression is not a verified effect. Computer vocabulary also changes, and download, installation, permission, and attachment actions must follow current systems and security guidance.
- 本人の 希望を 確認してから、担当させます。I will assign responsibility after confirming the person's wishes.
- 候補名と 類似する 商標を 検索します。I will search for trademarks similar to the candidate name.
- 効果を 表示する前に、合理的な 根拠を 確認します。I will confirm reasonable evidence before making a performance claim.