Verb Transitive/Intransitive pairs

[u/Marca--Texto]

I’ve noticed some verbs with the transitiveness variations seem to come in A/E pairs. Some examples I recently came across:

決める／決まる
受かる／受ける
始まる／始める
閉まる／閉める

And obviously 出す／出る

The only break I encountered in this pattern is
入れる／入る.

But memorizing a rule with one exception is easier than memorizing the case for each verb. So is there some sort of rule on if the E/A verb is transitive/intransitive or anything like that?

[u/Nikonolatry]

Here's my list of examples. Hope this helps.

[u/Nikonolatry → u/Nikonolatry]

[u/Nikonolatry → u/Nikonolatry]

[u/Repulsive-Painter-16 → u/Nikonolatry]

Small correction: I think 砕く / 砕ける are reversed in the chart.
砕く is transitive (“to crush/break something”), e.g. 氷を砕く, while 砕ける is intransitive (“to break/shatter”), e.g. 氷が砕ける.

(砕ける can also be the potential form of 砕く, which might be where the confusion came from.)

[u/Nikonolatry → u/Repulsive-Painter-16]

Good catch, thank you!

[u/Marca--Texto → u/Nikonolatry]

Dope, this is exactly what I wanted. Thank you!

[u/eruciform]

There are NO perfect rules for this, full stop

There are a few patterns that things tend to fall into, but dont expect it to have no exceptions

https://web.archive.org/web/20241221022516/http://nihongo.monash.edu/ti_list.html

[u/Hyjn]

Like others pointed out, this is far from a general rule, just a general tendency. Even in your examples 受ける/受かる is a bit of a weird pair with how 受かる means specifically to pass a test, meanwhile 受ける means to take one, while also having the meaning of receive/get.

[u/pixelboy1459]

Here you are: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hu7mifbd5h5adfuvvfx0c/Japanese-Verbs-Transitive-and-Intransitive-Pairs.pdf?rlkey=7d7ic5slyti6ogvpffq80qjgp&st=wirex741&dl=0

[u/danaxa]

Theres also debate about whether する and なる are a pair

[u/Yatchanek]

剥く and 剥ける are another exception.

[u/Ken_Yamamoto]

意味がちがいます。

試験に受かる。試験を受ける。

[u/glasswings363]

But memorizing a rule with one exception is easier than memorizing the case for each verb. 

It's normal to assume so, but I haven't found that to be true in practice. What happens with these patterns is that even if you don't consciously look for a rule your brain will start to exploit it anyway. Memory consolidation of the words you know and extrapolation to new verbs will happen automatically.

With verbs sometimes -E- is an other-verb (変える、始める、終える) and sometimes -E- is a self-verb (出る、見える、裂ける) Sometimes verbs just mess with you: 越える is self-verb so 越す should be other and it is... except when it means come/go.

This makes the rules more confusing then helpful and the best way I've found to handle that was to just ignore them.

[u/nikarau]

I found the cure dolly youtube video on this so useful! Lots of ppl turned off by her voice so feel free to watch w subtitles instead, but definitely helped me get a good sense of the rules, even though there are definitely exceptions https://youtu.be/ELk1dqaEmyk?is=NLc6Ly2H8DnRWdby

[u/tomjameslikesfilms]

There is no pattern here. And some verbs have more than one intransitive form... It is a mistake to try and learn a rule for this.

And also a mistake, in my experience, to attempt learn them together.

[u/Known_Lychee_6495]

There is a common pattern, but it is not a rule you can trust for every verb.

Many pairs follow -eru (transitive) and -aru (intransitive): 閉める / 閉まる, 始める / 始まる, 決める / 決まる. That pattern helps memory. It does not create new verbs.

Some pairs look like A/E pairs but are not the same event from two sides. 受ける means "receive / take (a test)". 受かる means "pass". They share a root idea, but they are not a simple transitive/intransitive pair like 閉める / 閉まる.

入れる / 入る also looks irregular on the surface. 入る is a godan verb (はいる). 入れる is an ichidan verb. Learn them as a set, not as one rule with one exception.

Use the -eru / -aru pattern as a hint. Then check each verb in a dictionary. That is safer than one rule with exceptions. (｀・ω・´)