February 17, 201511 yr The Japanese have many specific words that name -- and, just by calling attention to, give exquisite insight into -- many different, very specific aspects of human behavior. 'Tsundoku', I learned just now, means the act of buying books and then leaving them lying around unread. Etymology 積む (tsumu, to pile up) + 読 (doku, to read), punning on “積んでおく” (tsundeoku, to leave piled up) Noun 積ん読 (hiragana つんどく, romaji tsundoku) (informal) the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other such unread books http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E7%A9%8D%E3%82%93%E8%AA%AD In somewhat similar vein, an American friend who studied the Japanese language intensively for several years informs me there is a particular verb form specifically designed to mean, for any verb expressed in that form, that the action was done to oneself by someone else in such a way as to make oneself a victim of the act.
February 17, 201511 yr Author In somewhat similar vein, an American friend who studied the Japanese language intensively for several years informs me there is a particular verb form specifically designed to mean, for any verb expressed in that form, that the action was done to oneself by someone else in such a way as to make oneself a victim of the act. Found it! Passive sentences ( Genki II Chapter 21) Passive Sentences When you are inconvenienced by something somebody else has done, you can express your dissatisfaction using the passive sentence. Basic make up of a passive sentence: 私はともだちにくるまをつかわれました。 (victim)は (villian)に (evil act). I had my car used by a friend. The victim is affected by an event. Marked with the particle は or が. The villian preforms an action which causes the suffering. Marked with に. The evil act is described with the passive form of a verb. Forming passive verb forms: ru-verbs: Drop the final -ru and add -rare-ru :食べる -> 食べられる u-verbs: Drop the final -u and add -are-ru : はなす -> はなされる irregular verbs:する -> される くる -> こられる Passive forms of verbs conjugate as regular ru-verb. http://wp.stolaf.edu/japanese/ressource-projects/genki-i-ii-grammar-index/passive-sentences-genki-ii-chapter-21/
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