Hindi does not have a single passive “tense.” It first packages the lexical event as लिखा जाना “be written,” then inflects the जाना layer for habituality, ongoingness, completion, futurity, mood, or modality. Thus English is written, is being written, was written, and will be written correspond to different internal Hindi structures, not merely different forms of an auxiliary “be.”
The agreement rules remain those on the passive agreement page. This page tracks what changes above that agreement-bearing core.
The passive as a layered paradigm
Using masculine singular पत्र “letter/document” keeps the lexical participle constant and makes the aspectual contrasts easy to see.
| Meaning | Hindi form | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| is written / gets written | लिखा जाता है | passive + habitual + present |
| used to be written | लिखा जाता था | passive + habitual + past |
| is being written | लिखा जा रहा है | passive + progressive + present |
| was written | लिखा गया | passive + perfective |
| has been written | लिखा गया है | passive + perfective + present |
| had been written | लिखा गया था | passive + perfective + past |
| will be written | लिखा जाएगा | passive + future |
| may/should be written | लिखा जाए | passive + subjunctive |
| should be written | लिखा जाना चाहिए | agreeing passive infinitive + चाहिए |
| can be written | लिखा जा सकता है | passive + ability modal |
Habitual and generic passives
Use जाता/जाती/जाते हैं for repeated procedures, institutional practices, and generic statements. This is not necessarily happening at the moment of speaking.
दफ़्तर में डाक सुबह बाँटी जाती है।
daftar meṃ ḍāk subah bā̃ṭī jātī hai.
Mail is distributed in the office in the morning.
इन कमरों की सफ़ाई हर शुक्रवार की जाती है।
in kamroṃ kī safāī har śukravār kī jātī hai.
These rooms are cleaned every Friday.
पहले टिकट खिड़की पर बेचे जाते थे।
pahle ṭikaṭ khiṛkī par bece jāte the.
Tickets used to be sold at the counter.
English simple present can describe either a regular practice or, with certain verbs, a current state. Hindi किया जाता है specifically presents a customary or procedural event. Do not use it for an action unfolding right now.
Progressive passives
For an event in progress, place progressive रहा after passive जा: किया जा रहा है. Both the lexical participle and progressive participle agree with the passive subject.
पुरानी इमारत अभी गिराई जा रही है।
purānī imārat abhī girāī jā rahī hai.
The old building is being demolished now.
नए पुल बनाए जा रहे हैं।
nae pul banāe jā rahe haiṃ.
New bridges are being built.
जब मैं पहुँचा, तब मंच सजाया जा रहा था।
jab maĩ pahũcā, tab mañc sajāyā jā rahā thā.
When I arrived, the stage was being decorated.
The sequence is बनाए जा रहे हैं, not a direct calque with होना. Hindi uses होना as the final auxiliary है/था, but जाना remains the passive carrier.
Perfective passives and result relevance
Perfective गया/गई/गए presents the passive event as bounded and completed. With no present auxiliary, it commonly reports a past event. Adding है/हैं gives a present-perfect reading, often highlighting the present result; adding था/थे/थीं locates the completed event before a past reference point.
बैठक कल रद्द की गई।
baiṭhak kal radd kī gaī.
The meeting was canceled yesterday.
आपका भुगतान स्वीकार कर लिया गया है।
āpkā bhugtān svīkār kar liyā gayā hai.
Your payment has been accepted.
मेहमानों के आने से पहले खाना तैयार किया जा चुका था।
mehmānoṃ ke āne se pahle khānā taiyār kiyā jā cukā thā.
The food had already been prepared before the guests arrived.
The last example adds completive चुका above the passive core. It illustrates Hindi’s stack: agreeing lexical participle तैयार किया, passive carrier जा, completive चुका, past auxiliary था. English compresses this into “had already been prepared.”
Future and subjunctive passives
Future marking appears on जाना: किया जाएगा, की जाएगी, किए जाएँगे, की जाएँगी. Subjunctive जाए is common in instructions, recommendations, purpose clauses, and questions about what should happen.
अंतिम सूची सोमवार को जारी की जाएगी।
antim sūcī somvār ko jārī kī jāegī.
The final list will be released on Monday.
सभी उम्मीदवारों को ईमेल से सूचना भेजी जाएगी।
sabhī ummīdvāroṃ ko īmel se sūcnā bhejī jāegī.
A notice will be sent to all candidates by email.
ज़रूरी है कि हर शिकायत दर्ज की जाए।
zarūrī hai ki har śikāyat darj kī jāe.
It is essential that every complaint be registered.
यह सामान कहाँ रखा जाए?
yah sāmān kahā̃ rakhā jāe?
Where should this luggage be put?
The future is a prediction or commitment. The subjunctive does not assert the event as a fact; it places it in a proposed, required, or unresolved space.
Modal passives
Obligation commonly uses an agreeing passive infinitive plus चाहिए: रिपोर्ट भेजी जानी चाहिए. Possibility or ability uses जा सकना: रिपोर्ट भेजी जा सकती है. In both patterns, the feminine subject remains the controller.
यह दवा खाने के बाद ली जानी चाहिए।
yah davā khāne ke bād lī jānī cāhie.
This medicine should be taken after eating.
ये बदलाव बिना खर्च के किए जा सकते हैं।
ye badlāv binā kharc ke kie jā sakte haiṃ.
These changes can be made without expense.
क्या तारीख आगे बढ़ाई जा सकती है?
kyā tārīkh āge baṛhāī jā saktī hai?
Can the date be moved later?
Negation and questions
Negation leaves the aspect–tense architecture intact. नहीं normally precedes the passive complex or the element being contrasted; it does not replace the auxiliary. Questions likewise preserve the passive stack.
अभी तक कोई निर्णय नहीं लिया गया है।
abhī tak koī nirṇay nahīṃ liyā gayā hai.
No decision has been made yet.
क्या परिणाम आज घोषित किए जाएँगे?
kyā pariṇām āj ghoṣit kie jāẽge?
Will the results be announced today?
मेरी शिकायत पर कार्रवाई क्यों नहीं की जा रही है?
merī śikāyat par kārravāī kyoṃ nahīṃ kī jā rahī hai?
Why is no action being taken on my complaint?
Common Mistakes
Using habitual for an event happening now
❌ सड़क अभी बनाई जाती है।
Incorrect for an event in progress right now — this sounds habitual.
✅ सड़क अभी बनाई जा रही है।
saṛak abhī banāī jā rahī hai.
The road is being built now.
Replacing passive जाना with होना
❌ पुल बनाया हो रहा है।
Incorrect — progressive passive requires बनाया जा रहा है.
✅ पुल बनाया जा रहा है।
pul banāyā jā rahā hai.
The bridge is being built.
Stacking incompatible present and past auxiliaries
❌ रिपोर्ट पहले भेजी गई है थी।
Incorrect — a past-perfect passive does not stack present है before past थी.
✅ रिपोर्ट पहले भेजी गई थी।
riporṭ pahle bhejī gaī thī.
The report had been sent earlier.
Leaving the passive infinitive uninflected
❌ फीस आज जमा किया जाना चाहिए।
Incorrect — the passive infinitive must agree with feminine फीस.
✅ फीस आज जमा की जानी चाहिए।
fīs āj jamā kī jānī cāhie.
The fee should be deposited today.
Using an infinitive as a finite future
❌ नतीजे कल घोषित किए जाना।
Incorrect — this citation form lacks finite future marking.
✅ नतीजे कल घोषित किए जाएँगे।
natīje kal ghoṣit kie jāẽge.
The results will be announced tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
Keep passive voice separate from aspect and tense. The lexical participle introduces the affected event, जाना carries the passive framework, and higher material supplies habitual, progressive, perfective, future, subjunctive, or modal meaning. Choose the Hindi viewpoint demanded by the situation, not the English auxiliary string.
Related Topics
- Passive stem plus -ā जानाB1 — Build the Hindi passive from an agreeing lexical participle and जाना, including regular forms, common irregular bases, and polarity.
- Passive agreementB1 — Identify the agreement controller in Hindi passives, including feminine and plural patients, को-marked patients, and expressed agents.
- Passive with expressed agentC1 — Express a passive actor with द्वारा, के द्वारा, से, or के हाथों while choosing an appropriate Hindi register and preserving patient agreement.
- Aspect tense and mood: the Hindi architectureA1 — See how Hindi builds predicates by combining an event viewpoint with tense, agreement, and mood rather than copying English tense labels.
- Habitual aspect as imperfective viewpointA2 — Use the Hindi habitual to present routines, dispositions, generic truths, and repeated past events without asserting a completed endpoint.
- Progressive aspect and ongoing eventsA2 — Use Hindi progressive aspect to look inside unfolding activities, processes, and temporary situations without asserting their endpoint.