Korean Grammar Bank

KOREAN PASSIVE VERBS

In passive sentences, the subject is the recipient of the verb’s action, rather than the one who performs it.

Passive voice in Korean is not as common as active voice, but is still used in some situations.

ADDING -이

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action rather than the doer.

In other words, the focus is on the action being performed on the subject, rather than who or what is performing the action.

Passive voice is often used to emphasize the action itself or the recipient of the action.

The passive voice in Korean can be formed by adding specific endings to action verbs.

When the verb ends with a vowel or following consonants, ‘ᄒ, ᄁ’, you need to add 이 to the verb root.

놓다
to put		→놓이다
to be put		 책이 책상 위에 놓여 있어요.
The book is placed on the desk.
묻다
to bury 		→묻히다
to be buried		 보물이 땅에 묻혔어요.
The treasure was buried in the ground.
닫다
to close		→닫히다
to be closed		 문이 닫혔어요.
The door was closed.
View More Examples:
읽다
to read		→읽히다
to be read		 책이 읽혔어요.
The book was read.
먹다
to eat		→먹히다
to be eaten		 빵이 먹혔어요.
The bread was eaten.
막다
to block		→막히다
to be blocked		 길이 막혔어요.
The road is blocked.

ADDING -히

When the verb ends with following consonants, ‘ᄇ, ᄀ, ᄃ,ᄌ, ᄑ’ you need to add 히 to the verb root.

잡다
to catch		→잡히다
to be caught		 범인이 경찰에 잡혔어요.
The criminal was caught by the police.
막다
to block		→막히다
to be blocked		 도로가 차들로 막혔어요.
The road is blocked with cars.
씻다
to wash		→씻기다
to be washed		 손이 깨끗이 씻겼어요.
The hands were washed clean.
View More Examples:
밟다
to step on		→밟히다
to be stepped on		 발이 밟혔어요.
The foot was stepped on.
읽다
to read		→읽히다
to be read		 책이 많이 읽혔어요.
The book was read a lot.
먹다
to eat		→먹히다
to be eaten		 음식이 빨리 먹혔어요.
The food was eaten quickly.

ADDING -리

When the verb ends with consonant, ‘ᄅ’, you need to add -리 after the verb root.

밀다
to push		→밀리다
to be pushed		 차가 뒤로 밀렸어요.
The car was pushed back.
풀다
to untie		→풀리다
to be untied		 매듭이 풀렸어요.
The knot was untied.
열다
to open		→열리다
to be opened		 문이 열렸어요.
The door was opened.
View More Examples:
걸다
to hang		→걸리다
to be hung		 그림이 벽에 걸렸어요.
The picture was hung on the wall.
날다
to fly		→날리다
to be flown		 종이비행기가 날렸어요.
The paper plane was flown.
자르다
to cut		→잘리다
to be cut		 머리가 잘렸어요.
The hair was cut.

ADDING -기

When the verb ends with consonant, ‘ᄂ, ᄎ, ᄉ, ᄆ’ you need to add -기 to the verb root.

안다
to hug		→안기다
to be hugged		 아이가 엄마에게 안겼어요.
The child was hugged by the mother.
씻다
to wash		→씻기다
to be washed		 손이 깨끗이 씻겼어요.
The hands were washed clean.
담다
to put in		→담기다
to be put in		 물이 컵에 담겼어요.
The water was put in the cup.
View More Examples:
듣다
to hear		→들리다
to be heard		 소리가 잘 들려요.
The sound is well heard.
깎다
to peel		→깎이다
to be peeled		 사과가 깎였어요.
The apple was peeled.
맞다
to hit		→맞기다
to be hit		 공이 맞겼어요.
The ball was hit.

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FAQs

What does passive voice mean?

In passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action rather than the doer.

In other words, the focus is on the action being performed on the subject, rather than who or what is performing the action.

For example, in the sentence “The book was read by Mary,” “the book” is the subject receiving the action of being read, and “Mary” is the one performing the action.

Passive voice is often used to emphasize the action itself or the recipient of the action.

How to make the passive voice in Korean?

To form the passive voice in Korean, you typically add specific suffixes to the action verb based on its ending.

• When the verb ends with a vowel or following consonants, ‘ᄒ, ᄁ’, you need to add 이 to the verb root.

• When the verb ends with following consonants, ‘ᄇ, ᄀ, ᄃ,ᄌ, ᄑ’ you need to add 히.

• When the verb ends with consonant, ‘ᄅ’, you need to add -리.

• When the verb ends with consonant, ‘ᄂ, ᄎ, ᄉ, ᄆ’ you need to add -기.

What are exemples of Korean passive voice?

묻다 to bury → 묻히다 to be buried
보물이 땅에 묻혔어요. The treasure was buried in the ground.

막다 to block → 막히다 to be blocked
도로가 차들로 막혔어요.The road is blocked with cars.

열다 to open → 열리다 to be opened
문이 열렸어요. The door was opened.

Is Korean passive voice common?

Korean passive voice is not as common as active voice, however it is still important to know how things work.

Where to find more lessons like this?

You can visit our Korean Grammar Bank for more lessons on levels A1, A2, B1 and B2.

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