Distinguish a door opening from someone opening a door. These four verbs help you connect vocabulary, particles, and the resulting state expressed with ている.
Ask whether a person acts on an object
ドアが開きます describes the door opening. ドアを開けます describes someone opening the door. 開く is intransitive in this pairing; 開ける is transitive. The corresponding closing pair is 閉まる and 閉める.
An English sentence such as “the shop is open” may need a different expression depending on whether you mean the door, current trading, or opening hours. This page stays with physical doors and windows so that the meaning is clear.
Read the state carefully
ドアが開いています normally describes an open door. ドアを開けてください requests someone to open it. An object being open and the request to open it do not use the same verb in these patterns. Practise one full sentence for each side of the pair.
Examples to read before you practise
Japanese | Reading / English |
|---|---|
ドアが開く | ドアがあく — the door opens |
ドアを開ける | ドアをあける — open the door |
ドアが閉まる | ドアがしまる — the door closes |
ドアを閉める | ドアをしめる — close the door |
窓が開いています。 | The window is open. |
窓を開けてください。 | Please open the window. |
ドアが閉まっています。 | The door is closed. |
ドアを閉めてください。 | Please close the door. |
Try six questions
Use the interactive practice below. Type only the requested expression. Kanji and kana alternatives are accepted where listed in the answer key. Completing a question records a result; opening the answer key does not.
The door opens: ドアが（ ）。 Dictionary verb.
Open the door: ドアを（ ）。 Dictionary verb.
The door closes: ドアが（ ）。 Dictionary verb.
Close the door: ドアを（ ）。 Dictionary verb.
開く → polite te-iru form
閉める → te form for a request
Answer key and explanations
開く / あく — 開く describes the door’s change.
開ける / あける — 開ける acts on the door.
閉まる / しまる — 閉まる is the intransitive closing verb.
閉める / しめる — 閉める acts on the door.
開いています / あいています — This can describe the open state.
閉めて / しめて — 閉めてください uses the transitive verb.
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