Japanese with Manga

Receiving saying with 〜れる

Grammar Explanation: Receptive verbs with 〜れる

Manga panel from ご注文はうさぎですか？ showing example of Receiving saying with 〜れる.
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Cocoa excitedly tells Chino about a comment she received from a customer.

ココア:
「この前(まえ)お客(きゃく)さんにココアちゃんはシスター・コンプレックスだねって言(い)われちゃった」
“Earlier, it was said by a customer that I have a sister complex.”
Literal: “The other day, I ended up receiving it said by a customer, 'Cocoa-chan, you have a sister complex.'”
チノ:
「え…」
“Ah...”
ココア:
「響(ひび)きがかっこいいよね」
“It sounds cool, doesn't it?”

Key Points

1言(い)われちゃった = “I got told”
  • The receiver of the saying is Cocoa, even though the sentence does not say 私が.
  • Here お客(きゃく)さんに marks who said it: a customer said this to Cocoa.
2Receptive 〜れる with 言(い)う
  • 言(い)う becomes 言(い)われる in the receptive form.
  • In full, the core idea is お客(きゃく)さんに 言(い)われた: “I was told by a customer” or “a customer told me”.
3って marks the quoted comment
  • Everything before って is what the customer said: ココアちゃんはシスター・コンプレックスだね.
  • The は in ココアちゃんは belongs inside that quote; it is not marking the subject of 言(い)われちゃった.
4ちゃった is casual てしまった
  • 言(い)われちゃった is the casual past form of 言(い)われてしまった.
  • ちゃった often adds a sense of “ended up”, but Cocoa is happy here, not upset.
  • ちゃん is an affectionate, informal suffix attached to names, used mainly for children, close friends, and family members.

Vocabulary

(To say)

言(い)う means to say or tell. It can also mean to call something by a particular name.

See Also

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