Two sentences, the same event:
고양이가 쥐를 잡았어요 — the cat caught the mouse. 쥐가 고양이에게 잡혔어요 — the mouse was caught by the cat.
The second one moves the mouse into the subject slot and demotes the cat. That is the passive, and Korean has it. What Korean does not have is the English habit of reaching for it constantly.
1 · What the passive is actually for
| Reason | Example | Why active would be worse |
|---|---|---|
| The doer is unknown | 지갑을 잃어버렸어요 · 창문이 깨졌어요 | You do not know who |
| The doer does not matter | 회의가 취소됐어요 | Who cancelled it is not the news |
| The thing affected is the topic | 그 영화는 한국에서 만들어졌어요 | The film is what you are talking about |
2 · The four ways to build one
| Method | From | Passive | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 이 · 히 · 리 · 기 | 잡다 | 잡히다 | A fixed list of common verbs — day 2 |
| -아/어지다 | 만들다 | 만들어지다 | Almost any verb — day 3 |
| 하다 → 되다 | 시작하다 | 시작되다 | Sino-Korean verbs — day 5 |
| -게 되다 | 가다 | 가게 되다 | It came about that — day 6 |
3 · Korean prefers to keep the doer
Where English reaches for a passive, Korean often keeps the active and drops the subject instead — because Korean can drop a subject and English cannot.
| English | Korean | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| My wallet was stolen | 지갑을 도둑맞았어요 | Different verb entirely |
| I was told to wait | 기다리라고 했어요 | Active, subject dropped |
| Dinner is served | 식사 준비됐습니다 | 되다, not a passive suffix |
| This is written in Korean | 한국어로 쓰여 있어요 | State, not event |
회의가 갑자기 취소됐어요
hoeuiga gapjagi chwisodwaesseoyoThe meeting was suddenly cancelledWho cancelled it is not the point.문이 안 열려요
muni an yeollyeoyoThe door will not open열다 → 열리다. English uses an active verb here; Korean uses the passive.Day 1 words
잡히다
japidato be caught취소되다
chwisodoedato be cancelled깨지다
kkaejidato break, to be broken쓰러지다
sseureojidato fall over, to collapse도둑맞다
dodungmatdato have something stolen지갑
jigapwalletWhich particle marks the doer in 쥐가 고양이___ 잡혔어요?
Why does Korean need the passive less than English?
Before the quiz
- I can name three honest reasons to use a passive.
- I know the doer takes 에게 or 에, and is usually left out.
- I know why English needs the passive more than Korean does.
- I can name the four ways Korean builds one.