建つ vs 建てる
JLPT N4 vocabulary · what is the difference?
建つ is intransitive — a building goes up, with no builder mentioned (駅前にホテルが建つ). 建てる is transitive — someone builds it (家を建てる). Both are only about buildings, so the real question is whether you are naming who built it.
When to use each
建つ
たつ
Use 建つ when you are talking about a building appearing and it does not matter who built it — news about the neighbourhood, a hotel going up by the station. The building takes が and the place takes に.
近所に新しいビルが建ちました。
きんじょにあたらしいビルがたちました。
A new building went up in the neighborhood.
駅の前にホテルが建つそうです。
えきのまえにホテルがたつそうです。
I hear a hotel is going to be built in front of the station.
建てる
たてる
Use 建てる when the builder or owner is in the picture. 家を建てる is what you say about your own house, even though a company does the actual work. The building takes を.
新しい家を建てました。
あたらしいいえをたてました。
We built a new house.
駅の前にビルを建てています。
えきのまえにビルをたてています。
They are putting up a building in front of the station.
Sentences where only one works
来年、ここに図書館が建ちます。
らいねん、ここにとしょかんがたちます。
A library will go up here next year.
No builder is mentioned, so 建つ. It reads like an announcement.
市がここに図書館を建てます。
しがここにとしょかんをたてます。
The city will build a library here.
Once the city is named as the builder, you need 建てる and を.
両親は去年、家を建てました。
りょうしんはきょねん、いえをたてました。
My parents built a house last year.
Commissioning and paying for a house counts as 建てる, even though they did not lay the bricks themselves.
山の上にお寺が建っています。
やまのうえにおてらがたっています。
There is a temple standing on the mountain.
建っている describes a building that stands there now. For a person or a pole you would write 立っている instead.
Common mistakes
新しい家が建てました。
新しい家を建てました。
建てる needs を. If you want が, the verb is 建つ: 新しい家が建ちました。
ビルは駅の前に立っています。
ビルは駅の前に建っています。
立つ and 建つ are both たつ. Use 建 for buildings and 立 for people and things standing upright.
家を建ちたいです。
家を建てたいです。
Wanting a house built is your own plan, so you need the transitive 建てる. 建ちたい is not used.
Frequently asked questions
建つ and 立つ are both たつ — how do I know which to write?
建 is only for buildings going up. 立 is for standing: people, poles, a sign. In speech they are identical, so context decides.
If a company builds my house, can I still say 家を建てました?
Yes. Japanese treats the person who commissions and pays for the house as the one who 建てる it. That is the normal thing to say.
Is 建てられる the same as 建つ?
They overlap. 建てられる is the passive of 建てる and keeps a builder implied in the background; 建つ simply reports that the building came into existence. 建つ sounds more natural in everyday speech.