喜ばせる

喜ばせる (yorokobaseru) is a verb meaning 'to please' or 'to make someone happy.' It describes an action you take. For example, 友達を喜ばせる (tomodachi o yorokobaseru) means 'to please a friend.'

嬉しい (ureshii) is an adjective meaning 'happy' or 'glad.' It describes a feeling. For example, 私は嬉しい (watashi wa ureshii) means 'I am happy.'

So, 喜ばせる is something you do, and 嬉しい is something you feel.

No, you generally don't use 喜ばせる to talk about yourself being happy. It's a transitive verb, which means it takes a direct object and describes causing happiness in someone else.

If you want to say 'I am happy,' you would use 嬉しい (ureshii) or 幸せ (shiawase). For example: 私は嬉しいです (watashi wa ureshii desu).

The plain form is 喜ばせる (yorokobaseru).

The polite form (masu-form) is 喜ばせます (yorokobasemasu).

Yes, it's a regular 'ichidan' verb (though it ends in -eru, it acts like a ru-verb in conjugation). Here are some common forms:

• Past plain: 喜ばせた (yorokobaseta) - pleased/made happy
• Te-form: 喜ばせて (yorokobasete) - pleasing and.../please and...
• Negative plain: 喜ばせない (yorokobasenai) - not please/not make happy
• Passive: 喜ばせられる (yorokobaserareru) - to be pleased/made happy
• Potential: 喜ばせられる (yorokobaserareru) - to be able to please/make happy (often contracted to 喜ばせる)

You use it with the particle を (o) to mark the person you are pleasing.

Example 1: 私は彼女を喜ばせたい。 (Watashi wa kanojo o yorokobasetai.)
Hint: I want to please her. (literally: I her to-please-want.)

Example 2: プレゼントで子供を喜ばせた。 (Purezento de kodomo o yorokobaseta.)
Hint: I made the child happy with a present. (literally: Present with child made-happy.)

A common mistake is forgetting that it's a transitive verb used to cause happiness in someone else. English speakers might try to use it reflexively like 'I made myself happy,' which isn't natural in Japanese with 喜ばせる. Instead, you'd say 'I became happy' (嬉しくなった - ureshiku natta).

Not really. 喜ばせる specifically refers to causing happiness or pleasure in a living being, typically a person or sometimes an animal. You wouldn't use it to describe making an object 'happy' or 'pleased.'

Both involve making someone feel good, but with a slight nuance difference:

喜ばせる (yorokobaseru): To please, to make happy, often implying a deeper, more emotional satisfaction or joy.
Example: 誕生日のサプライズで彼を喜ばせた。(Tanjoubi no sapuraizu de kare o yorokobaseta.)
Hint: I made him happy with a birthday surprise.

楽しませる (tanoshimaseru): To entertain, to make someone have fun. This is more about providing amusement or enjoyment.
Example: 彼は冗談で私たちを楽しませた。(Kare wa joudan de watashitachi o tanoshimaseta.)
Hint: He entertained us with jokes.

喜ばせる itself is a neutral word. Its politeness depends on how it's conjugated. For example:

• 喜ばせる (yorokobaseru) is casual/plain form.
• 喜ばせます (yorokobasemasu) is polite form.
• You can also use honorifics or humble language around it if the situation requires. For instance, お客様を喜ばせる (okyaku-sama o yorokobaseru) is polite as it uses 'customer' with an honorific suffix.

While not a fixed idiom, you often hear phrases like:

人を喜ばせるのが好きだ。 (Hito o yorokobaseru no ga suki da.)
Hint: I like making people happy. (literally: Person to-please-NOMINALIZE is like.)

サプライズで彼女を喜ばせよう。 (Sapuraizu de kanojo o yorokobaseyou.)
Hint: Let's make her happy with a surprise. (literally: Surprise with her to-please-let's.)