～られる (受身)
RuleVerb passive (~rareru/~reru): makes the receiver of the action the subject ("be V-ed").
Curiosity
How do you recast "the teacher praised me" with the praised "I" as the subject?
Intuition
The passive swings the camera to the receiver's viewpoint. The doer is marked with ni (sensei ni homerareru). It looks like the potential (taberareru), so context tells them apart.
Visualization
homeru (active: praise) → homerareru (passive: be praised).
褒めるactive (praise)
Essence
Ichidan: ~ru → ~rareru (homeru → homerareru). Godan: a-row + reru (shikaru → shikarareru, yomu → yomareru). Irregular: suru → sareru, kuru → korareru. There is also the "suffering passive": ame ni furareru (be rained on / inconvenienced).
Examples
私は先生に褒められた。
I was praised by the teacher.
弟にケーキを食べられた。
My little brother ate my cake (on me).
この本は多くの人に読まれている。
This book is read by many people.
Mini-quiz
What is the passive of "shikaru" (to scold)?