替わる · godan verb (-ru)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 替わる | 替わらない |
| Polite | 替わります | 替わりません |
| Past polite | 替わりました | 替わりませんでした |
| Past | 替わった | 替わらなかった |
| Te-form | 替わって | 替わらないで |
| Desire | 替わりたい | 替わりたくない |
| Potential | 替われる | 替われない |
| Passive | 替わられる | 替わられない |
| Causative | 替わらせる | 替わらせない |
| Causative passive | 替わらせられるalso 替わらされる | 替わらせられないalso 替わらされない |
| Volitional | 替わろう | |
| Polite volitional | 替わりましょう | |
| Imperative | 替われ | 替わるな |
| Conditional | 替われば | 替わらなければ |
| Tara conditional | 替わったら | 替わらなかったら |
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be replaced; succeed someone; relieve someone
Only when written 替わる / 替る
Intransitive use for a person, role, shift, or item being replaced by another. This is not the sense 'to succeed' as in 'to be successful.' 替わる is the especially typical spelling.
The reception staff rotate every hour.
The person in charge was replaced in the middle of the fiscal year.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
take the place of; substitute for; represent; hand over the phone
Only when written 代わる / 代る
Used when someone acts in another person's place or on their behalf. In telephone contexts, 〜に代わります means handing the call over to that person. 代わる is the especially typical spelling.
The vice president attended the ceremony on behalf of the president.
Please hold for a moment. I will put the person in charge on the line.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be exchanged; switch places; be swapped
Only when written 換わる / 換る
Used for things changing places or being exchanged, especially when the idea is mutual exchange rather than simple replacement. 換わる is the highlighted spelling, though 入れ換わる or the transitive 換える may be more common in many everyday contexts.
These points can be exchanged for cash.
After lunch, the two people's seats had been switched.
The new person in charge replaced the previous one.
Please hold on, I'll put my mother on the phone.
I had the person next to me swap seats with me.
The menu has been replaced with a new one starting this month.
入れ替わる stresses a mutual, physical swap of positions between two things or people, while 替わる can describe either a one-way replacement or a simple exchange.
替わる emphasizes one thing being replaced or exchanged for another, while 変わる more broadly describes a change in state, nature, or condition.
変わる and 替わる are both read かわる, but 変わる means to change in state or nature while 替わる means to be replaced, substituted, or exchanged for something else.
代わる is the intransitive verb for someone or something taking another's place on its own, while 代える is the transitive act of deliberately making that substitution.
daily change; changing every day
substitution; replacement; shifting; change
be replaced; change places; be swapped · switch; exchange; change (with someone)
change to; switch to; be replaced by
succession; taking over a role or position · subrogation; substitution of a creditor
be covertly swapped; be replaced (e.g. with a counterfeit)
change places; relieve one another; swap
imperial succession
be replaced by falling out; shed and regrow; molt
upcoming program; upcoming programme
alternate; take turns