The term Iĝi-passive is useful classroom shorthand for an -iĝ- verb that resembles an English passive: La pordo malfermiĝis “The door opened/was opened.” Strictly speaking, however, this is not an ordinary passive—it is an intransitive, middle-like construction that presents a change or process from the affected participant's perspective and leaves any causer outside the grammar of the clause. Compare it throughout with the standard esti-passive.
From Transitive Verb to IĜ-Verb
With an object-taking verb, -iĝ- removes the external causer from the verb's argument structure. The old object becomes the subject of the new intransitive verb. This is one productive use of the broader IĜ suffix.
La gardisto malfermis la pordon.
The guard opened the door.
La pordo malfermiĝis.
The door opened.
The active sentence says who caused the change. Malfermiĝis presents the door's transition without stating who or what caused it. The door need not literally act “by itself”; the point is that the clause does not organize the event around a causer.
| Transitive base | IĜ-alternative | Typical interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| malfermi ion | io malfermiĝas | something opens/becomes open |
| rompi ion | io rompiĝas | something breaks |
| vendi ion | io vendiĝas | something sells/is sold |
| detrui ion | io detruiĝas | something is destroyed/comes apart |
La glaso rompiĝis, kiam ĝi falis sur la plankon.
The glass broke when it fell on the floor.
Tiuj lokaj produktoj vendiĝas tre bone inter turistoj.
Those local products sell very well among tourists.
In the second example, vendiĝas describes a general disposition or market behavior. Translating it as “are sold” is possible, but the sentence does not invite us to imagine particular sellers. This causer-backgrounding effect is the distinctive value of the construction.
Why It Is Not a True Passive
The standard passive preserves the possibility of an agent phrase:
La fenestro estis rompita de ŝtono.
The window was broken by a stone.
An -iĝ- verb is intransitive. It cannot take a direct object, and de after it does not become a passive-agent marker.
La fenestro rompiĝis pro la ŝtono.
The window broke because of the stone.
Here pro la ŝtono gives a cause. If a person deliberately broke the window and that fact matters, say La fenestro estis rompita de iu or use the active Iu rompis la fenestron. Do not write rompiĝis de iu as though -iĝ- were an auxiliary passive.
The -iĝ- construction also has no passive participles of its own. Because every -iĝ- verb is intransitive, forms such as malfermiĝata and rompiĝita are not standard. Its participles are active forms describing its subject:
| Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| malfermiĝanta pordo | a door that is opening |
| malfermiĝinta pordo | a door that has opened |
| malfermiĝonta pordo | a door that is about to open |
La malrapide malfermiĝanta pordo knaris laŭte.
The slowly opening door creaked loudly.
These -ant-/-int-/-ont- forms are active because the door is the grammatical subject of malfermiĝi. The apparent passive meaning comes from derivation with -iĝ-, not from the passive participles -at-/-it-/-ot-.
Tense Is Expressed Directly on the IĜ-Verb
Unlike the analytic esti-passive, an -iĝ- verb uses the ordinary simple tense endings.
| Form | Time | Example meaning |
|---|---|---|
| malfermiĝas | present | opens/is opening |
| malfermiĝis | past | opened |
| malfermiĝos | future | will open |
| malfermiĝus | conditional | would open |
| malfermiĝu | volitive | let it open |
La aŭtomata pordo ne malfermiĝas; eble mankas elektro.
The automatic door is not opening; perhaps the power is out.
Ĉu la aliĝo fermiĝos je noktomezo?
Will registration close at midnight?
— Kio okazis al la dosiero? — Ĝi difektiĝis dum la kopiado.
— What happened to the file? — It became corrupted during copying.
The simple forms often make this alternative lighter than an esti-passive. They do not, however, reproduce the passive participle's three-way phase contrast. If you must distinguish being repaired, already repaired, and awaiting repair, the analytic forms riparata, riparita, and riparota are more precise.
Event, Result, and General Disposition
Different roots yield different natural interpretations. With a change-of-state verb, -iĝ- often presents the transition itself:
Post longa sekeco la tero fendetiĝis.
After a long drought, the ground cracked.
With verbs such as vendi, legi, and traduki, an -iĝ- form can describe how readily or characteristically something undergoes the action:
La nova romano legiĝas facile malgraŭ sia longa historio.
The new novel reads easily despite its long storyline.
Ĉi tiu ŝerco ne tradukiĝas bone en Esperanton.
This joke does not translate well into Esperanto.
These sentences resemble the English middle construction “reads easily” or “doesn't translate well.” They are not reports of one identifiable passive event. An explicit adverb such as facile, bone, or malfacile often makes this dispositional reading especially natural.
Some -iĝ- verbs have conventional meanings that are not predictable by substituting an English passive word for word. Nomiĝas normally gives a name, La hundo nomiĝas Bruno, while estas nomata Bruno can mean that people call it Bruno. Naskiĝi is the ordinary way to say “be born,” though standard esti naskita is also grammatical.
Mia filino nomiĝas Leila, sed ŝiaj amikoj nomas ŝin Lei.
My daughter's name is Leila, but her friends call her Lei.
Li naskiĝis en Tunizo kaj kreskis en Francio.
He was born in Tunis and grew up in France.
These established uses are neutral across registers. Productive innovations are also possible, but a formally possible -iĝ- verb can sound opaque if speakers do not normally conceptualize the event as a spontaneous change or disposition.
The Independent Verb IĜI plus a Participle
Esperanto can also use independent iĝi with a passive participial adjective: La pordo iĝis fermita “The door became closed.” This construction explicitly profiles entry into the resulting state. It is grammatical, but direct La pordo fermiĝis is usually shorter and more idiomatic for the closing event.
Post la ĝisdatigo la antaŭe kaŝita opcio iĝis videbla al ĉiuj.
After the update, the previously hidden option became visible to everyone.
With an ordinary adjective such as videbla, independent iĝi straightforwardly means “became”; the complement is not a passive construction. With transparent passive participles, choose iĝi only when entry into the resulting state is the intended focus. Do not treat iĝi + participle as a universal replacement for esti + participle.
Choosing among Active, Esti-Passive, and IĜ
| Form | Focus | Can name agent? |
|---|---|---|
| Ana malfermis la pordon. | Ana's action | agent is subject |
| La pordo estis malfermita de Ana. | affected door or completed opening | yes, with de |
| La pordo malfermiĝis. | the door's change | no passive agent slot |
In neutral conversation, active and -iĝ- clauses are often more direct than a passive. Formal, technical, and journalistic writing uses the esti-passive more freely when the affected entity must remain the discourse topic.
Common Mistakes
Adding a passive agent to an IĜ-verb
❌ La pordo malfermiĝis de la gardisto.
Incorrect — an -iĝ- verb has no passive-agent slot.
✅ La pordo estis malfermita de la gardisto.
The door was opened by the guard.
Giving an IĜ-verb a direct object
❌ Mi malfermiĝis la fenestron.
Incorrect — <em>malfermiĝi</em> is intransitive.
✅ Mi malfermis la fenestron.
I opened the window.
Forming a passive participle from an IĜ-verb
❌ La malfermiĝata pordo knaras.
Incorrect — an -iĝ- verb cannot form a passive participle.
✅ La malfermiĝanta pordo knaras.
The opening door creaks.
Using IĜ when the agent is the point
❌ La kontrakto subskribiĝis de ambaŭ direktoroj.
Incorrect — the explicit agent conflicts with the -iĝ- construction.
✅ La kontrakto estis subskribita de ambaŭ direktoroj.
The contract was signed by both directors.
Assuming English “get” always means IĜ
❌ Mi iĝis mian aŭton riparita hieraŭ.
Incorrect — this copies English ‘got my car repaired’ and gives <em>iĝi</em> an object.
✅ Mi igis mekanikiston ripari mian aŭton hieraŭ.
I had a mechanic repair my car yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- An “Iĝi-passive” is normally an -iĝ- verb such as malfermiĝi, not a true agentive passive.
- It foregrounds the affected participant's change, spontaneous development, or disposition and backgrounds any causer.
- -Iĝ- verbs are intransitive: they take no direct object, no passive de agent, and no passive participle.
- Their participles are active -ant-/-int-/-ont- forms because the affected participant is their grammatical subject.
- Use esti + passive participle when event phase or an explicit agent matters; use active syntax when the doer should be central.
Related Topics
- The Esti-PassiveB1 — Form the standard Esperanto passive with esti plus an agreeing passive participle, while keeping tense and event phase separate.
- Active VoiceB1 — Use active clauses and active participles to present the doer, experiencer, or state-holder as the grammatical subject.
- Agentless PassivesC1 — Use passive clauses without naming the doer, and distinguish ordinary subject-bearing passives from impersonal passives in -e.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- Valency-Changing DerivationB1 — Use -ig- and -iĝ- to add a causer, remove a causer, and build precise causative and change-of-state verbs in Esperanto.
- -iĝ-: Becoming, Spontaneous ChangeB2 — Use -iĝ- for entering a new state, action, or location and for intransitive change whose affected participant becomes the subject.