Use 起こす to describe waking another person or bringing about an event.
The idea
起こす is a transitive godan verb: mark the person woken or the event caused with を. Its polite form is 起こします, past 起こしました and て form 起こして. Context determines whether it means wake or cause.
| Dictionary form | Polite non-past | Polite past | て form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 起こす | 起こします | 起こしました | 起こして |
Examples
- 私は弟を七時に起こします。I wake my younger brother at seven.
- 明日、六時に私を起こしてください。Please wake me tomorrow at six.
- ドアの音で赤ちゃんを起こしました。I woke the baby with the sound of the door.
- 運転手は事故を起こしました。The driver caused an accident.
- 大雨が洪水を起こしました。The heavy rain caused flooding.
- その発言は誤解を起こしました。That remark caused a misunderstanding.
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Watch out
Do not confuse 起こす with intransitive 起きる: 子どもを起こす means wake the child, while 子どもが起きる means the child wakes up. 事故を起こす describes causing an accident; 事故が起きる describes one happening.
Try it yourself
＿。（起こす→ます）
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起こします
起こします is the polite non-past form: the godan ending す changes to し before ます.
＿。（起こす→て）
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起こして
起こして is the て form: the final す changes to して.
運転手は事故を＿。（起こしました／起きました）
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起こしました
起こしました fits because the driver caused the accident, marked by を; 起きました would describe the accident happening.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
＿。（起こす→ます）
＿。（起こす→て）
運転手は事故を＿。（起こしました／起きました）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Make one sentence about waking someone and another about causing a problem; identify the object marked by を.