Korean Passive Verbs (피동): 이/히/리/기, -어지다, and -어 있다

Korean passive verbs use the infixes 이/히/리/기 (문이 닫혀요 — the door closes), -어/아지다 builds passives for other verbs (만들어지다 — be made), and -어 있다 marks the resulting state (문이 닫혀 있어요 — the door is closed).

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Written by Alvin Lim Certified Korean Language Teacher (Level 2)

L3-26 🧩 Level 3 · TOPIK 3 passive ⚡ 5-Q quiz at the end

Korean builds passive verbs (피동) two ways: the infixes 이/히/리/기 turn active verbs passive (문이 닫혀요 — the door gets closed, 소리가 들려요 — the sound is heard), and -어/아지다 covers verbs without an infix (만들어지다 — be made, 켜지다 — be turned on); then -어/아 있다 marks the lasting state that follows: 문이 닫혀 있어요 (the door is closed). This is your introduction to passives — the grammar behind every news headline like 범인이 잡혔다 (the culprit was caught).

You just brought stories to life with onomatopoeia and 만큼. Now we shift the perspective: instead of “I closed the door” (문을 닫았어요), Korean often says “the door got closed” (문이 닫혔어요) — focusing on the thing, not the doer. The receiver becomes the subject and takes 이/가. Master this and you unlock the voice of formal writing, news, and natural everyday description.

Ten words for things that happen

These nouns and verbs surround the passive — incidents, breaks, and states.

피동
pi-dong
the passive (voice)
피동 표현을 배워요 — pi-dong pyo-hyeo-neul bae-wo-yo — we learn passive expressions
사건
sa-kkeon
incident, case, event
큰 사건이 났어요 — keun sa-kkeo-ni na-sseo-yo — a big incident happened
발생하다
bal-saeng-ha-da
to occur, break out
사고가 발생했어요 — sa-go-ga bal-saeng-hae-sseo-yo — an accident occurred
깨지다
kkae-ji-da
to break, get broken
컵이 깨졌어요 — keo-bi kkae-jeo-sseo-yo — the cup broke
도둑맞다
do-dung-mat-da
to be robbed, have something stolen
지갑을 도둑맞았어요 — ji-ga-beul do-dung-ma-ja-sseo-yo — my wallet got stolen
잠기다
jam-gi-da
to be locked
문이 잠겼어요 — mu-ni jam-gyeo-sseo-yo — the door is locked
보이다
bo-i-da
to be seen, be visible
산이 보여요 — sa-ni bo-yeo-yo — the mountain is visible
들리다
deul-li-da
to be heard, be audible
소리가 잘 들려요 — so-ri-ga jal deul-lyeo-yo — the sound comes through clearly
열리다
yeol-li-da
to be opened, open
문이 자동으로 열려요 — mu-ni ja-dong-eu-ro yeol-lyeo-yo — the door opens automatically
상태
sang-tae
state, condition
문이 열린 상태예요 — mu-ni yeol-lin sang-tae-ye-yo — the door is in an open state

The four passive infixes — 이/히/리/기

Most basic verbs form the passive by inserting 이, 히, 리, or 기 — which one is fixed per verb, so learn them in pairs. The thing acted on takes 이/가.

이/히/리/기 — THE FOUR PASSIVES
이/히/리/기 inserted into the verb stem

이 : 보다→보이다 (be seen), 놓다→놓이다 (be placed), 쌓다→쌓이다 (pile up) 히 : 닫다→닫히다 (be closed), 먹다→먹히다 (be eaten), 잡다→잡히다 (be caught) 리 : 열다→열리다 (be opened), 듣다→들리다 (be heard), 팔다→팔리다 (be sold) 기 : 안다→안기다 (be hugged), 끊다→끊기다 (be cut off), 쫓다→쫓기다 (be chased)

Notice how the subject flips: active 문을 닫아요 (I close the door) → passive 문이 닫혀요 (the door gets closed). The doer fades, the receiver (문이) takes the spotlight. This is exactly the voice of a news line: 도둑이 경찰에게 잡혔어요 = the thief was caught by the police.

The other passive — -어/아지다

Verbs without an infix pair — especially 하다 verbs — build the passive with -어/아지다. This is the same -어지다 you met turning adjectives into “become” (좋다→좋아지다 = get better).

-어/아지다 — THE OTHER PASSIVE
V-어/아지다 (passive / become)

만들다→만들어지다 = be made (이 빵은 손으로 만들어져요) 켜다→켜지다 = be turned on (불이 켜졌어요 = the light came on) 정하다→정해지다 = be decided (날짜가 정해졌어요 = the date got set)

So Korean has two passive engines: the built-in 이/히/리/기 for short native verbs, and -어/아지다 for the rest. If no infix form exists, reach for -어/아지다.

The resulting state — -어/아 있다

To say something stays in a condition after the change, add -어/아 있다 to the passive (or an intransitive verb). This is the difference between an event and a lasting state.

-어 있다 — THE STATE AFTER
V-passive + -어/아 있다 (resulting state)

문이 닫혀 있어요 = the door is (in a) closed (state) — vs 닫혀요 (it closes) 불이 켜져 있어요 = the light is on — vs 켜져요 (it comes on) 벽에 그림이 걸려 있어요 = a picture is hanging on the wall

Hold the contrast: 닫혀요 = the closing happens; 닫혀 있어요 = it is and remains closed. News reports lean on both — 사고가 났다 (an accident happened) for the event, 길이 막혀 있다 (the road is blocked) for the lingering state.

Reporting what happened to things

Watch the passives and -어 있다 describe a string of small disasters:

💬 EVERYTHING WENT WRONG 이/히/리/기 + -어 있다 live
왜 이렇게 늦었어요? 무슨 일 있었어요? Why are you so late? Did something happen?
아침부터 사고가 발생했어요. 컵이 깨지고 휴대폰도 끊겼어요. Things went wrong from the morning — a cup broke and my phone got cut off too.
저런! 집은요? Oh no! What about your place?
문이 잠겨 있어서 한참 밖에 서 있었어요. The door was locked, so I stood outside for a long while.
열쇠가 안에 있었어요? Was the key inside?
네, 창문으로 보니까 열쇠가 책상에 놓여 있었어요. Yeah — looking through the window, the key was sitting on the desk.

Every line takes the thing-focused view: 사고가 발생했어요 (an incident occurred), 컵이 깨지고 (a cup broke), 휴대폰이 끊겼어요 (the phone got cut off), 문이 잠겨 있어서 (the door was locked — state), 열쇠가 놓여 있었어요 (the key was sitting there — state). That is the passive voice doing exactly what it’s for.

FAQ

How do I know whether a verb takes 이/히/리/기 or -어지다 for the passive? Most basic action verbs have a built-in passive with one of the four infixes 이/히/리/기 — and which one is fixed per verb, so you memorize them: 보다→보이다, 닫다→닫히다, 열다→열리다, 안다→안기다. Verbs that do NOT have such a paired form — especially 하다 verbs and many newer or compound verbs — build the passive with -어/아지다 instead: 만들다→만들어지다, 켜다→켜지다, 정하다→정해지다. A rough rule: try the infix form first for short native verbs; if no such word exists, use -어/아지다. Over time the 이/히/리/기 pairs become automatic.

What is the difference between 닫혀요 and 닫혀 있어요? 닫혀요 (passive verb alone) describes the ACTION of closing happening — the door closes / gets closed: 바람에 문이 닫혀요 = the door closes in the wind. 닫혀 있어요 (passive + -어 있다) describes the resulting STATE that lasts afterward — the door IS closed (and stays that way): 지금 문이 닫혀 있어요 = the door is closed right now. Use the plain passive for the event, and -어 있다 for the ongoing condition. Compare 불이 켜져요 (the light comes on) vs 불이 켜져 있어요 (the light is on).

Is -어 있다 the same as -고 있다? No — they mark different things. -고 있다 is the progressive, an action in progress: 문을 닫고 있어요 = I’m (in the middle of) closing the door. -어 있다 marks a resulting state after a change, and it attaches to intransitive/passive verbs: 문이 닫혀 있어요 = the door is (already) closed and remains so. So 앉고 있어요 = is sitting down (the motion), but 앉아 있어요 = is seated (the state). For passives, -어 있다 is how you say “it stays in that condition.”

Next: reading Korean news — headlines and -다고 하다. Previous: onomatopoeia & mimetic words — 반짝반짝 and 만큼. Full path: curriculum hub.

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