Ambiguity between potential causative and passive causative


I have this thought from time to time when I am trying to express an English
thought in Japanese. Perhaps the sentence itself is unnatural so let me know.

It seems like we can make him come (to a place far from the speaker. in a
playful "forcing someone" way)

あ、行かせられそう

Does this work? I suppose 行ってもらえそう might work here but I thought it might be
too soft for the nuance I want. And I know the actual passive causative would
be 行かされる, but is it still possible these could get confused for each other?
Does 行かせられる sound like can make someone go? What about る-verb where the
conjugation would look the same like 見させられる (can make him look or being forced
to watch)




行か **せられる** works for you, while 行か **される** doesn’t.

行かせる and 行かす are both valid causative forms of 行く.

The former works as a ru-verb (or _ichidan_ or Group II verb), and therefore,
its potential and passive forms are both 行か **せられる**. As with any other ru-
verb, ambiguity could arise. Depending on the context, it could mean either
“can make someone go” or “be forced to go.”

The latter, the short form, works as an u-verb (or _godan_ or Group I verb),
and therefore, its potential form would be 行か **せる**. However, this form is
usually not used because it is identical to the (long) causative form. You
would need to say 行かすことができる to mean “can make someone go.” 行か **される** only
means “be forced to go.”

見る is not a very good example because there is another verb with a causative
sense, namely 見せる.

Let’s use 食べる as an example of a ru-verb.

Its causative form is 食べさせる and this also works as a ru-verb. Therefore, its
potential and passive forms are both 食べ **させられる**. Depending on the context,
it could mean either “can make someone eat” or “be forced to eat.”




行か **せられる** works for you, while 行か **される** doesn’t.

行かせる and 行かす are both valid causative forms of 行く.

The former works as a ru-verb (or _ichidan_ or Group II verb), and therefore,
its potential and passive forms are both 行か **せられる**. As with any other ru-
verb, ambiguity could arise. Depending on the context, it could mean either
“can make someone go” or “be forced to go.”

The latter, the short form, works as an u-verb (or _godan_ or Group I verb),
and therefore, its potential form would be 行か **せる**. However, this form is
usually not used because it is identical to the (long) causative form. You
would need to say 行かすことができる to mean “can make someone go.” 行か **される** only
means “be forced to go.”

見る is not a very good example because there is another verb with a causative
sense, namely 見せる.

Let’s use 食べる as an example of a ru-verb.

Its causative form is 食べさせる and this also works as a ru-verb. Therefore, its
potential and passive forms are both 食べ **させられる**. Depending on the context,
it could mean either “can make someone eat” or “be forced to eat.”

