= helper verb that indicates an action is “being received” by an subject (eng: passive)

• られる: + stem of godan verbs
• れる: + -a stem of all other verbs

note: when appending it to a verb, the subject changes to the receiver of the action!

if you do not change the subject, it becomes the “nuisance receptive”, putting empathis that the subject is the receiver of a (bad) action.

Example §

• トムさんがケーキを食べる
  • = “Tom eats a cake”
  • -> トムさんにケーキが食べられる
    • = “The cake gets eaten by tom”
    • == “The cake receives the action of being eaten from Tom” -　だれかがさくらさんの鞄を盗んだ。
• = “Somebody stole Sakuras bag”
  • -> さくらさんはだれかに鞄を盗まれた。
    • = “Sakuras bag got stolen by somebody”
  • or -> さくらさんがだれかに鞄を盗まれた。
    • = “Sakura got her bag stolen by somebody” (= nuisance receptive)