When are える words 他動詞 and when are they 自動詞?


When I started using [WaniKani](https://knowledge.wanikani.com/getting-
started/how-wanikani-works/) I was always wondering why 上がる is intransitive
(to rise by your-/itself) and 上げる is transitive (to raise something).

Over time I learned that there are patterns defining when something is
transitive or intransitive. A word ending in ある is always intransitive. A word
ending in す is always transitive. And a word ending in あす seems to always
follow the pattern "to make something do something" (e.g. 飛ばす to make/send
something flying).

So when the word ends in ある or す I am save. Since you often have
transitive/intransitive word pairs you are also save as long as you know the
word with the distinctive pattern.

However, there are enough verbs that don't follow either of the above named
patterns. But, if that is the case, without having proof for it, I feel like
there is always one word in a pair that ends in える. As an example look at 見る
(To see), 見える (to be seen), and 見せる (to make see or to show).

Here the word without pattern (見る) is transitive and the word with pattern
(見える) is intransitive. The other way round is also possible with 見つける being
the transitive part of a word pair. And in the case of 見せる it even seems like
the える form can take the role of the あす form.

My question about this topic is: Is there a ruleset I can use to determine
whether a verb ending in える is transitive or intransitive if the word it is
paired with doesn't end in ある or す?

[This question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/586/about-eru-
and-aru-verb-pairs-that-are-not-transitive-intransitive-counterpart) seems
related but doesn't answre my question. The answer to [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/14861/%E3%81%A8%E3%81%BE%E3%82%8B-%E3%81%A8%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B-and-
such-pairs-of-verbs) explains what I explained here but doesn't dive into the
える problematic.




> Is there a ruleset I can use to determine whether a verb ending in える is
> transitive or intransitive if the word it is paired with doesn't end in ある
> or す?

The patterns involving *える verbs(*え means all え段 kana, like け、め、せ...) are
generally as follows:

##### えるー*ある (*あ means all あ段 kana, like か、ま、さ...)

  * 伝わるー伝える
  * 変わるー変える
  * 当たるー当てる
  * 終わるー終える (rarely used but exists)

える verbs are TRANSITIVE here

##### れるーす

  * 流れるー流す
  * 零れるー零す
  * 壊れるー壊す
  * 崩れるー崩す

*える verbs are INTRANSITIVE here

##### *うー *える

  * 開くー開ける
  * 止むー止める
  * 付くー付ける

*える verbs are TRANSITIVE here

##### *あすー *える

  * 果たすー果てる
  * 冷やすー冷える
  * 燃やすー燃える
  * 癒{いや}すー癒える

*える verbs are INTRANSITIVE here

That's pretty much all involving *える verbs. There are others like
る-す(残るー残す、回るー回す、返すー返る), *おすー *いる(過ごすー過ぎる、起こすー起きる), or irregulars like
(消えるー消す、伸ばすー伸びる、尽くすー尽きる...) but the pairs involving *える would fit in the
categories listed above.

If you can identify your *える verb with one of the 4 patterns above, then you
can quite confidently know if the *える is transitive or intransitive.
Personally I memorize each pair as two separate, distinct verbs, but it's up
to you how you want to organize stuff in your head.

For 見える and 聞こえる, you should treat these two verbs specially, as they are
leftover potential forms of 見る and 聞く from older Japanese, they are not
transitive-intransitive pairs. For 見せる, it also isn't a pair with 見つける, but a
stand-alone verb. 見つける(transitive) is paired with 見つかる(intransitive).




The following are the guidelines, not rules, that I gathered from this
(somewhat controversial)
[book](https://books.google.co.jp/books/about/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AB%E4%B8%BB%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AF%E3%81%84%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84_%E7%99%BE%E5%B9%B4.html?id=kh2tBQAAQBAJ)
titled 日本語に主語はいらない—百年の誤謬を正す.

## /ari/ as an intransitivity marker

If one of the pair ends with /ari/ in its ます-stem, it's intransitive. This
intransitivity marker /ari/ is historically related to ある ( _to be_ ). The
unmarked (i.e. transitive) side of the pair mostly (if not always) ends with
/e/ in its ます-stem.

I list all examples below in their ます-forms so the marking is clear, and also
put an asterisk on the marked side. Each line has the intransitive verb first
followed by the transitive counterpart.

  * 上がります* vs. 上げます
  * 下がります* vs. 下げます
  * 閉まります* vs. 閉めます (締まります* vs. 締めます)
  * 始まります* vs. 始めます
  * 変わります* vs. 変えます
  * 集まります* vs. 集めます
  * 教わります* vs. 教えます
  * 預かります* vs. 預けます
  * 受かります* vs. 受けます
  * 見つかります* vs. 見つけます

There are exceptions to this rule. 割る is one such case. It is probably
etymologically unrelated to ある, and it's the unmarked side in its pair (with
割れる). I will come back to these pairs later.

I don't know if 積もる, with /ri/ but not /a/, is a variation of this pattern or
unrelated.

## /si/ as a transitivity marker

If one of the pair ends with /si/ (し) in its ます-stem, it's transitive. This
transitivity marker /si/ is historically related to する ( _to do_ ). The
unmarked (i.e. intransitive) side of the pair may or may not end with /e/ in
its ます-stem.

  * 落ちます vs. 落とします*
  * 起きます vs. 起こします*
  * 通ります vs. 通します*
  * 戻ります vs. 戻します*
  * 出ます vs. 出します*
  * 消えます vs. 消します*
  * 隠れます vs. 隠します*
  * 汚れます vs. 汚します*
  * 壊れます vs. 壊します*

In some of the pairs in this category, the transitive side is actually the
short (old) causative form. 飛ばす is one of them.

  * 沸きます vs. 沸かします*
  * 動きます vs. 動かします*
  * 飛びます vs. 飛ばします*

The /s/ sound in causative forms is also thought to be historically related to
する.

## Others

If neither of the pair is marked by /ari/ or /si/, one ends with /i/ and the
other with /e/ in their ます-stems. Between them, the one with /e/ is considered
marked and the one with /i/ unmarked. The verbs in this category are further
divided into two subgroups depending on which direction the /e/ marker works
in.

A. /e/ as a transitivity marker

  * 開きます vs. 開けます*
  * 立ちます vs. 立てます*
  * 付きます vs. 付けます* (also written with other kanji)
  * 続きます vs. 続けます*
  * 並びます vs. 並べます*
  * 届きます vs. 届けます*
  * 育ちます vs. 育てます*
  * 縮みます vs. 縮めます*

B. /e/ as an intransitivity marker

  * 割れます* vs. 割ります
  * 焼けます* vs. 焼きます
  * 切れます* vs. 切ります
  * 破れます* vs. 破ります
  * 折れます* vs. 折ります
  * 砕けます* vs. 砕きます

To determine which group a verb belongs to, we need to rely on semantics. The
verbs in the second group are _break_ -like verbs. The unmarked (default)
side, of which 割る is one, denotes a forceful and destructive action upon
something, and therefore transitive, and the marked side (i.e. with /e/)
describes a change that results from it, and therefore intransitive.

The book argues transitivity in Japanese is not a dichotomy but a continuum of
how much control the speaker has over the action or event of the verb. At the
least transitive end are passive forms. The /(r)are/ morpheme in passive forms
is historically related to ある. At the other end are causative forms with the
/(s)ase/ morpheme, whose /s/ sound is historically related to する. (You have
control over what other people do.) The /ari/ and /si/ markers above, which
are thought to be the results of (the old forms of) ある and する fusing into the
base verbs, put the verbs inside of, respectively, the passive and causative
extremes on the transitivity scale.

見える doesn't make up a pair with 見る, and neither does 聞こえる with 聞く. However,
they are similar in formation to the verbs in the first subgroup of the third
category above. The /e/ marker (from ゆ) here denotes spontaneity and thus puts
the verbs on the intransitive side of their respective base versions.

Though not exactly intransitive-transitive pairs, _godan_ verbs (or u-verbs)
and their potential forms may be seen in a similar light. The /e/ marker,
denoting potentiality, puts the verbs with it on the intransitive side of
their unmarked counterparts. This may explain the use of が with potential
verbs.

見せる, with /s/, clearly has a causative sense. It doesn't make up a pair with
見る, either, but must be related to the second category. (In Kansai-ben, we say
見して as well as 見せて.)

