Tabesaserareru

Tabesaserareru is a Japanese grammatical form that expresses being made to eat something. It is the passive form of the causative verb tabesaseru, which means “to make someone eat” or “to feed.” When combined as tabesaserareru, the speaker or subject is the one who is caused to eat, typically by another person or entity. The construction highlights the action of being compelled or pressured to eat rather than simply eating.

Formation and usage: start from taberu (to eat). The causative is tabesaseru (to make someone eat / to feed). The passive of the causative is tabesaserareru (to be made to eat / to be fed). The standard written form is 食べさせられる. The agent who causes the eating is usually marked with に (e.g., 母に食べさせられる) but may be omitted when the agent is unknown or irrelevant.

Nuances: tabesaserareru often conveys a sense of obligation, coercion, or an unpleasant experience, though not always strong. It can appear in past or non-past forms: 食べさせられる, 食べさせられた, and polite forms in conversation or writing: 食べさせられます, 食べさせられました. It is distinct from the simple passive 食べられる, which merely indicates that someone ate something that was eaten by someone else, without emphasizing who caused it.

Examples:

- 私は母に野菜を食べさせられた。I was made to eat vegetables by my mother.

- 彼は上司に昼食を食べさせられて困った。He was made to eat lunch by his boss and was troubled.