Korean passive voice is a grammatical structure that shifts the focus of a sentence from the doer or the action to the recipient or the result of the action that happened to the object. This structure is commonly used to highlight what happens to the subject rather than who is performing the action similar to how the passive voice functions in English.
In the active voice (능동태), the subject of the sentence performs the action on the object. It emphasizes the role of the subject as the agent of the action. In contrast, the passive voice (수동태) transforms the sentence to focus on the action’s effect on the object. The object is considered to be the patient affected by the action.
It’s often better to use a passive sentence when you don’t know who did the action, who did it isn’t important, or when you don’t want to specify who did it, especially in important contexts like legal documents or testimonials. In these situations, passive sentences are preferred because you can leave out who performed the action. This flexibility is a key reason why passive sentences are more common in legal documents than in other types of writing. By understanding and using the passive voice, Korean learners can add nuance and depth to their language skills, making their communication more precise and effective.
Active voice
나는 문을 열었다. (I opened the door)
I = doer
The door = patient
Passive voice
그 문은 (나에 의해) 열렸다. [The door was opened (by me)]
The door = patient
I = doer
Unlike English, the use of the passive voice and the number of verbs that can be made passive are more limited in Korean. Parts of a sentence can be left out if they are clear from the text. This reduces the need to use the passive voice strategically. Also, Korean has other grammatical structures that can achieve the same effect as the passive voice. These alternatives, often called “periphrastic passives”, are used more widely and systematically with many verbs.
We will discuss how to form passive sentences in Korean and learn other periphrastic passives.
Korean Passive Suffixes : -이 / -히 / -리 / -기
You can turn an action verb into a passive verb just by adding one of the four passive suffixes directly to the verb stem. Korean only requires these suffixes, but each suffix works differently with different verbs, so you can’t guess which suffix to use due to the distinctive behavior of each passive suffix. You have to learn and memorize each passivated verb form separately.
Passive Suffix: -이
1. 놓이다 (to put on)
책이 책상 위에 놓였습니다. (The book was placed on the desk)
2. 쌓이다 (to be stacked)
눈이 마당에 쌓였다. (The snow was piled up in the yard)
3. 보이다 (to be seen)
밤하늘에 별이 보였습니다. (The stars were seen in the night sky)
4. 섞이다 (to be mixed)
소스가 재료들과 잘 섞였습니다. (The sauce was well mixed with the ingredients)
5. 쓰이다 (to be used)
이 뜻으로 쓰였습니다. (It is used as this meaning)
6. 꺾이다 (to be broken off)
나뭇가지가 바람에 꺾였어요. (The branches were broken off by the wind)
7. 닦이다 (to be wiped off)
창문이 깨끗히 닦였습니다. (The window was cleaned thoroughly)
8. 모이다 (to be gathered)
사람들이 광장에 모였습니다. (The people were gathered in the square)
9. 바뀌다 (to be changed)
계획이 갑자기 바뀌었어. (The plan was suddenly changed)
10. 꼬이다 (to be twisted)
실이 엉켜서 꼬였습니다. (The thread was tangled and twisted)
Passive Suffix: -허
1. 먹히다 (to be eaten)
사과가 벌레에게 먹혔어요. (The apple was eaten by bugs)
2. 닫히다 (to be closed)
문이 자동으로 닫혔어요. (The door was closed automatically)
3. 긁히다 (to be scratched)
차가 나무에 긁혔습니다. (The car was scratched by the tree)
4. 잊히다 (to be forgotten)
그의 이름이 살마들에게 잊혔어요. (His name was forgotten by people)
5. 묻히다 (to be buried)
보물이 땅 속에 묻혔어요. (The treasure was buried underground)
6. 잡히다 (to be caught)
도둑이 경찰에게 잡혔어요. (The thief was caught by the police
7. 뽑히다 (to be chosen, to be pulled out)
그가 대표로 뽑혔습니다. (He was chosen as the representative)
8. 읽히다 (to be read)
이 책은 많은 사람들에게 읽혔습니다. (This book was read by many people)
9. 밟히다 (to be stepped on)
꽃이 발에 밟혔어요. (The flower was stepped on by a foot)
10. 접히다 (to be folded)
종이가 반으로 접혔어요. (The paper was folded in half)
Passive: -리
1. 잘리다 (to be cut)
머리카락이 짧게 잘렸어요. (The hair was cut short)
2. 걸리다 (to be caught, to be hung)
그림이 벽에 걸렸어요. (The picture was hung on the wall)
3. 밀리다 (to be pushed, to be delayed)
차가 교통 체증으로 밀렸어요. (The cars were delayed due to traffic congestion)
4. 팔리다 (to be sold)
티켓이 모두 팔렸습니다. (All the tickets were sold)
5. 풀리다 (to be solved, to be untied)
문제가 쉽게 풀렸어요. (The problem was easily solved)
6. 물리다 (to be bitten)
아이가 개에게 물렸어요. (The child was bitten by the dog)
7. 끌리다 (to be dragged, to be attracted)
나는 그의 매력에 끌렸습니다. (I was attracted by his charm)
8. 눌리다 (to be pressed)
제 손가락이 의자에 눌렸습니다. (My fingers were pressed by the chair)
9. 들리다 (to be heard)
아무 소리도 들리지 않았어. (Not a sound was heard)
10. 열리다 (to be opened)
가게 문이 아침 일찍 열렸어요. (The store was opened early in the morning)
Passive Suffix: -기
1. 찢기다 (to be torn)
편지가 실수로 찢겼어요. (The letter was accidentally torn)
2. 담기다 (to be filled, to be contained)
그릇에 물이 담겼습니다. (The bowl was filed with water)
3. 안기다 (to be hugged)
아이가 엄마 품에 안겼어요. (The child was hugged by the mother)
4. 쫓기다 (to be chased)
도둑이 경찰에게 쫓겼습니다. (The thief was chased by the police)
5. 감기다 (to be wound, to be wrapped)
실이 손가락에 감겼어요. (The thread was wound around the finger)
6. 빼았기다 (to be taken away)
장난감이 다른 아이에게 빼았겼어요. (The toy was taken away by another child)
*Note: “Noun + 에게/한테” and “Noun + 에 의해(서)” which mean “by” in English can be freely removed since it does not disturb the meaning.
Up to here, we have practiced the Korean passive structure in this session, so please remember how to form passive sentences in Korean by using the Korean passive suffixes “-이 / -히 / -리 / -기.” Once you feel familiar with these four passive suffixes let’s move on to practicing “periphrastic passives” in another session. You can learn how to make passive sentences with various verbs.