Passive Verbs: -이/히/리/기-
Use Korean passive verbs: the suffixes -이-, -히-, -리-, -기- (보이다, 먹히다, 열리다, 안기다), the pattern -아/어지다, and 되다 with 하다 nouns.
Mr. Gaon · Grammar, vocabulary & TOPIKWhat you will learn in this lesson
- Recognize and use common passive verbs made with -이-, -히-, -리-, -기-
- Mark the doer of a passive action with 에게/한테 or 에
- Make passives with -아/어지다 when a verb has no suffix passive
- Know when Korean prefers an active sentence
Hello! Today’s topic is the passive: "The door was opened", "I was bitten by a mosquito". Korean passives look tricky at first, but most of them come from a small group of verbs you already know. Let’s learn them in families.
What is a passive sentence?
In an active sentence, the subject does the action: 고양이가 쥐를 잡았어요. — The cat caught the mouse.
In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action: 쥐가 고양이에게 잡혔어요. — The mouse was caught by the cat.
English makes passives with "be + past participle". Korean has three main ways:
1. Add a passive suffix -이-, -히-, -리-, -기- to the verb stem (잡다 → 잡히다). 2. Add -아/어지다 to the verb stem (만들다 → 만들어지다). 3. For many 하다 verbs, change 하다 to 되다 (사용하다 → 사용되다).
Which suffix a verb takes cannot be fully predicted, so the best way is to learn each passive verb as a word. The good news is that the most useful ones are few, and you will hear them every day.
Suffix passive: "to be (done)". The new verb is a separate dictionary word.
- -이-: 보다 → 보이다 (be seen, be visible), 쓰다 → 쓰이다 (be written, be used), 놓다 → 놓이다 (be placed), 쌓다 → 쌓이다 (be piled up).
- -히-: 먹다 → 먹히다 (be eaten), 닫다 → 닫히다 (be closed), 잡다 → 잡히다 (be caught), 막다 → 막히다 (be blocked), 읽다 → 읽히다 (be read), 밟다 → 밟히다 (be stepped on).
- -리-: 열다 → 열리다 (be opened), 팔다 → 팔리다 (be sold), 듣다 → 들리다 (be heard), 걸다 → 걸리다 (be hung), 풀다 → 풀리다 (be solved, come loose), 물다 → 물리다 (be bitten).
- -기-: 안다 → 안기다 (be held in someone’s arms), 끊다 → 끊기다 (be cut off), 쫓다 → 쫓기다 (be chased), 잠그다 → 잠기다 (be locked).
- The new verbs conjugate normally: 열리다 → 열려요, 열렸어요; 잡히다 → 잡혀요, 잡혔어요.
- 여기에서 바다가 잘 보여요. yeogieseo badaga jal boyeoyo.You can see the sea well from here. (The sea is clearly visible from here.)
- 바람 때문에 문이 닫혔어요. baram ttaemune muni datyeosseoyo.The door closed because of the wind.
- 이 책은 많이 팔렸어요. i chaegeun mani pallyeosseoyo.This book sold a lot.
- 옆집에서 음악 소리가 들려요. yeopjibeseo eumak soriga deullyeoyo.I can hear music from next door.
- 아기가 엄마 품에 안겼어요. agiga eomma pume angyeosseoyo.The baby was held in its mother’s arms.
- 통화 중에 전화가 끊겼어요. tonghwa junge jeonhwaga kkeunkyeosseoyo.The call got cut off in the middle.
Common suffix passives
| Suffix | Active | Passive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -이- | 보다 | 보이다 | to be seen / visible |
| -이- | 쓰다 | 쓰이다 | to be written / used |
| -히- | 먹다 | 먹히다 | to be eaten |
| -히- | 막다 | 막히다 | to be blocked (traffic jam) |
| -히- | 잡다 | 잡히다 | to be caught |
| -리- | 열다 | 열리다 | to be opened / held (an event) |
| -리- | 듣다 | 들리다 | to be heard / audible |
| -리- | 팔다 | 팔리다 | to be sold |
| -기- | 안다 | 안기다 | to be held / hugged |
| -기- | 끊다 | 끊기다 | to be cut off |
Learn each pair as vocabulary. Not every verb has a suffix passive.
Notice something useful: 보이다 and 들리다 often mean "can be seen" and "can be heard". So "I can’t hear you" is simply 잘 안 들려요. You will use that one on the phone a lot!
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Who did it? 에게/한테 and 에
To show who did the action in a passive sentence, use 에게 or 한테 (more casual) for people and animals: 쥐가 고양이한테 잡혔어요.
For things, natural forces or causes, use 에: 나무가 바람에 쓰러졌어요 (the tree fell over in the wind). 서류가 바람에 날렸어요.
Very often, Korean simply leaves the doer out, because it is unknown or not important: 문이 열렸어요. — The door opened / was opened.
"to get (done), to be (done)" — a passive for verbs that have no suffix passive, often describing how something turned out.
- Follow the same vowel rule as -아요/어요: last vowel ㅏ or ㅗ → -아지다; other vowels → -어지다; 하다 → 해지다.
- Examples: 만들다 → 만들어지다 (be made), 지우다 → 지워지다 (be erased), 이루다 → 이루어지다 (come true).
- Common examples: 켜다 → 켜지다 (be turned on), 끄다 → 꺼지다 (be turned off), 정하다 → 정해지다 (be decided), 주다 → 주어지다 (be given).
- Do not add -아/어지다 to a verb that is already passive (쓰이다 → 쓰여지다 is a double passive, which careful writers avoid).
- With adjectives, -아/어지다 means "to become" (예쁘다 → 예뻐지다), not passive.
- 이 의자는 나무로 만들어졌어요. i uijaneun namuro mandeureojyeosseoyo.This chair was made of wood.
- 갑자기 불이 꺼졌어요. gapjagi buri kkeojyeosseoyo.Suddenly the lights went off.
- 이 펜은 잘 지워져요. i peneun jal jiwojyeoyo.This pen’s writing erases easily.
- 꿈이 이루어졌어요! kkumi irueojyeosseoyo!My dream came true!
Many Sino-Korean 하다 verbs make their passive with 되다.
- 사용하다 (use) → 사용되다 (be used); 결정하다 (decide) → 결정되다 (be decided); 발견하다 (discover) → 발견되다 (be discovered).
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject with 이/가.
- 회의 날짜가 결정됐어요. hoeui naljjaga gyeoljeongdwaesseoyo.The meeting date has been decided.
- 이 단어는 요즘 자주 사용돼요. i daneoneun yojeum jaju sayongdwaeyo.This word is often used these days.
Active or passive?
- 제가 문을 열었어요. jega muneul yeoreosseoyo. I opened the door. Active: the doer matters.
- 문이 열렸어요. muni yeollyeosseoyo. The door opened. Passive: we only care about the result.
- 모기가 저를 물었어요. mogiga jeoreul mureosseoyo. A mosquito bit me. Grammatically fine, but sounds a little unusual.
- 모기한테 물렸어요. mogihante mullyeosseoyo. I got bitten by a mosquito. More natural: the person who suffers is the subject.
- 길이 많이 막혀요. giri mani makyeoyo. The roads are really jammed. A passive that is used like an everyday expression.
Use passives naturally
Korean uses passives less often than English, especially in formal writing translated from English. Long chains like "was decided to be held" sound heavy in Korean. A good rule: use a passive when the doer is unknown or unimportant, or when you want to show that something happened to someone (often something unpleasant: getting bitten, caught, stepped on). Otherwise, an active sentence is usually more natural.
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Check quiz
Q1. What is the passive of 열다 (to open)?
Q2. On the phone: "I can’t hear you well."
Q3. Choose the correct particle: 도둑이 경찰( ) 잡혔어요.
Q4. Which sentence uses -아/어지다 correctly?
Q5. Which is the passive of 안다 (to hug, hold)?
Q6. Which is the most natural passive for 결정하다?
Excellent! Start with the everyday ones: 보이다, 들리다, 열리다, 닫히다, 막히다, 팔리다. When you hear a new passive verb, write it next to its active partner. Your list will grow faster than you think.
Key points
- Suffix passives: -이- (보이다), -히- (먹히다, 막히다), -리- (열리다, 들리다), -기- (안기다, 끊기다).
- Learn each passive verb as vocabulary; the suffix is not predictable.
- Doer: 에게/한테 for people and animals, 에 for things and causes.
- -아/어지다 makes passives for other verbs (만들어지다, 꺼지다); avoid double passives like 쓰여지다.
- Many 하다 verbs use 되다: 사용되다, 결정되다.
Recommended official free resources
- Standard Korean Dictionary — National Institute of Korean Language
- Korean Basic Dictionary (multilingual) — National Institute of Korean Language
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