High School - Grade 9
Lesson 1: Passive Voice (피동)
When something "is done"
What is Passive Voice?
So far, you've learned "Active Voice," where the subject *does* an action.
Active: 고양이가 쥐를 먹었어요. (The cat ate the mouse.)
**Passive Voice** flips this. The subject *receives* the action. The "doer" (the cat) becomes less important or is mentioned separately.
Passive: 쥐가 고양이에게 먹혔어요. (The mouse was eaten by the cat.)
How to Make Passive Verbs
There are two main ways. The first is by adding a suffix to the verb stem. The bad news? You have to memorize which verb takes which suffix. The good news? You already know many of them!
-이-
보다 (to see) 보이다 (to be seen)
놓다 (to put) 놓이다 (to be put)
-히-
먹다 (to eat) 먹히다 (to be eaten)
닫다 (to close) 닫히다 (to be closed)
-리-
열다 (to open) 열리다 (to be opened)
듣다 (to hear) 들리다 (to be heard)
-기-
안다 (to hug) 안기다 (to be hugged)
쫓다 (to chase) 쫓기다 (to be chased)
Method 2: Using -되다
The second (and often easier) way is used with many `하다` (to do) verbs. You simply replace `하다` with `되다` (to become) or `받다` (to receive).
사용하다 (to use) 사용되다 (to be used)
이 컴퓨터는 학교에서 사용됩니다.
(This computer is used at the school.)
사랑하다 (to love) 사랑받다 (to be loved)
그 아이는 모두에게 사랑받아요.
(That child is loved by everyone.)
Coming Up Next...
Great work! You've learned how to say something "is done." Now, what about *making* someone do something?
In the next lesson, we'll learn the **Causative Voice (사동)**, which is how you say "I *made* my brother eat" or "I *let* my friend see."