Korean has no single all-purpose passive the way English does (build → be built, send → be sent, one rule). It splits the job in two. (A) A closed, memorized set of pure-Korean transitive verbs takes a fused suffix — 이 / 히 / 리 / 기 — wedged inside the verb: 잡다 "catch" → 잡히다 "be caught." (B) The thousands of Sino-Korean 하다-verbs have no fused passive at all, so they passivize by swapping 하다 for a light verb: 되다 (neutral), 받다 (favorable), or 당하다 (adversative). This page is the look-up grid for both routes, and for how the demoted "by X" agent gets marked.
The grid
| Type | Marker | Base → passive | Example (해요체) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suffixal (native) | 이 | 보다 → 보이다 boida (be seen) 놓다 → 놓이다 noida (be placed) 쌓다 → 쌓이다 ssaida (pile up) | 바다가 보여요 badaga boyeoyo |
| Suffixal (native) | 히 | 잡다 → 잡히다 [자피다] japida (be caught) 먹다 → 먹히다 [머키다] meokida (be eaten) 닫다 → 닫히다 [다치다] dachida (be closed) 읽다 → 읽히다 [일키다] ilkida (be read) | 범인이 잡혀요 beomini japyeoyo |
| Suffixal (native) | 리 | 듣다 → 들리다 deullida (be heard) 열다 → 열리다 yeollida (be opened) 팔다 → 팔리다 pallida (be sold) 밀다 → 밀리다 millida (be pushed) | 음악이 들려요 eumagi deullyeoyo |
| Suffixal (native) | 기 | 안다 → 안기다 angida (be held) 쫓다 → 쫓기다 [쫃끼다] jjotgida (be chased) 끊다 → 끊기다 [끈키다] kkeunkida (be cut off) | 전화가 끊겨요 jeonhwaga kkeunkyeoyo |
| Sino-Korean swap | -되다 (neutral) | 시작하다 → 시작되다 sijakdoeda 사용하다 → 사용되다 sayongdoeda | 회의가 시작돼요 hoe-uiga sijakdwaeyo |
| Sino-Korean swap | -받다 (favorable) | 사랑받다 sarangbatda (be loved) 존경받다 jongyeongbatda (be respected) | 사랑을 받아요 sarang-eul badayo |
| Sino-Korean swap | -당하다 (adversative) | 거절당하다 geojeoldanghada (be rejected) 무시당하다 musidanghada (be ignored) 사기당하다 sagidanghada (be scammed) | 무시를 당해요 musireul danghaeyo |
Route A: the native suffix passive
The subject of a suffix passive is the thing the action happens to; the doer, if named at all, is demoted. The choice of 이/히/리/기 tracks the stem-final consonant — but it is a closed, non-productive list, so you cannot coin a new one. You learn which verbs are on it, exactly as you do for the causatives. The 히 members carry an audible signature: the ㅎ fuses with the stem consonant into an aspirated sound (닫히다 = [다치다], 잡히다 = [자피다]).
옥상에 올라가면 바다가 잘 보여요.
oksang-e ollagamyeon badaga jal boyeoyo
If you go up to the roof, you can see the ocean well. (보다 → 보이다)
옆집에서 음악 소리가 들려요.
yeopjibeseo eumak soriga deullyeoyo
I can hear music from the house next door. (듣다 → 들리다)
통화 중에 갑자기 전화가 끊겼어요.
tonghwa jung-e gapjagi jeonhwaga kkeunkyeosseoyo
The call suddenly got cut off mid-conversation. (끊다 → 끊기다)
Notice 들려요 and 보여요 — where English says "I can hear / see," Korean makes the sound or the view the subject and lets it "be heard / be seen." Korean prefers the thing to present itself to the senses rather than a person to actively perceive it.
Route B: the Sino-Korean light-verb swap — and the 당하다 stance
For a 하다-verb, swap 하다 for a light verb. 되다 is the neutral workhorse of formal and written Korean ("get done"). 받다 and 당하다 split by attitude, a stance Korean bakes into the grammar where English hands you one neutral frame: 받다 says the subject received the action (a good or neutral thing — 사랑받다, 존경받다), while 당하다 says the subject suffered it (a victim of harm — 사기당하다, 배신당하다). Choosing 당하다 says out loud that this was done to you and it was bad.
다음 주부터 공사가 시작돼요.
daeum jubuteo gongsaga sijakdwaeyo
The construction starts next week. (시작하다 → 시작되다, neutral)
그 배우는 팬들에게 정말 많은 사랑을 받아요.
geu baeuneun paendeurege jeongmal maneun sarang-eul badayo
That actor gets really a lot of love from fans. (favorable 받다)
어제 중고 거래에서 사기를 당했어요.
eoje junggo georaeeseo sagireul danghaesseoyo
I got scammed in a secondhand deal yesterday. (adversative 당하다)
Marking the agent: 에게 / 한테 / 에 / 에 의해
English's one-size by splits by animacy and register. A living agent takes 에게 (neutral) or 한테 (spoken); an inanimate force takes plain 에; and formal written Korean uses 에 의해(서). Very often, though, the agent is simply left out.
쥐가 고양이에게 잡혔어요.
jwiga goyang-iege japyeosseoyo
The mouse was caught by the cat. (animate agent → 에게)
이 소설은 유명한 작가에 의해 쓰였어요.
i soseoreun yumyeonghan jakga-e uihae sseuyeosseoyo
This novel was written by a famous author. (formal → 에 의해)
Common Mistakes
1. Using -되다 where the nuance needs -당하다. Harm done to you takes 당하다.
❌ 어제 길에서 사기됐어요.
Wrong — being scammed is adversative: 사기를 당했어요, not ×사기됐어요.
✅ 어제 길에서 사기를 당했어요.
eoje gireseo sagireul danghaesseoyo
I got scammed on the street yesterday.
2. Applying a native suffix to a 하다-verb. Sino-Korean verbs swap 하다, they don't take 이/히/리/기.
❌ 이 방법이 자주 사용히어요.
Wrong — 사용하다 has no suffix passive; swap 하다 → 되다: 사용돼요.
✅ 이 방법이 자주 사용돼요.
i bangbeobi jaju sayongdwaeyo
This method is used often.
3. Doubling the passive with -어지다. A verb that already has a suffix passive must not also take -어지다.
❌ 여기서 산이 잘 보여져요.
Wrong — 보이다 is already passive; ×보여지다 double-marks it. Say 보여요.
✅ 여기서 산이 잘 보여요.
yeogiseo sani jal boyeoyo
You can see the mountain well from here.
4. Marking an inanimate force with 에게. Non-living causes take 에, not 에게.
❌ 옷이 비에게 다 젖었어요.
Wrong — rain is inanimate, so it takes 에: 비에 젖었어요.
✅ 옷이 비에 다 젖었어요.
osi bie da jeojeosseoyo
My clothes got all wet in the rain.
Key Takeaways
- Native route: a closed set of pure-Korean verbs takes fused 이/히/리/기 (잡히다, 들리다, 안기다); which suffix tracks the stem-final consonant but is memorized, not productive.
- Sino-Korean route: swap 하다 for 되다 (neutral), 받다 (favorable), or 당하다 (adversative) — the stance is grammaticalized.
- The 이/히/리/기 shapes double as causatives; only argument structure and context disambiguate.
- The agent takes 에게/한테 (animate), 에 (inanimate force), or 에 의해(서) (formal written) — and is often omitted.
- Never double-mark a suffix passive with -어지다 (×보여지다), and never apply a native suffix to a 하다-verb.
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Start learning Korean→Related Topics
- Causative Suffixes (이·히·리·기·우·구·추 + -게 하다): Reference TableTOPIK 4 — The seven fused causative suffixes 이/히/리/기/우/구/추 laid out with base and derived verbs, plus the fully productive periphrastic -게 하다 — with the honest caveat that which suffix a stem takes is lexically fixed and unpredictable.
- Which Verbs Passivize (and Which Do Not)TOPIK 4 — The suffix passive 이/히/리/기 is a closed, non-productive list — only a memorized set of native transitive verbs takes one, and the choice tracks the stem-final consonant; everything else passivizes through the escape hatches 되다 (for Sino-Korean nouns) and -아/어지다 (for native verbs).
- The 되다 Passive: N이/가 되다, N하다 → N되다TOPIK 2 — 되다 is the light-verb passive that partners Sino-Korean action nouns and the huge N하다 verb class: swap 하다 → 되다 to get 'be/get X-ed' — 사용하다 → 사용되다 'be used', 시작하다 → 시작되다 'begin'. It's the passive escape hatch for the thousands of 하다-verbs that have no fused suffix passive.
- The Adversative Passive N을/를 당하다TOPIK 4 — 당하다 turns a Sino-Korean noun of harm into a victim passive — 사기를 당하다 'be scammed', 무시당하다 'be ignored' — encoding that the event was bad and the subject a victim, unlike neutral English 'be + past participle'.
- Marking the Agent: 에게 / 한테 / 에 / 에 의해TOPIK 4 — How the demoted 'by X' agent is marked in a Korean passive depends on animacy and register: animate agents take 에게 (neutral) or 한테 (spoken), inanimate forces take 에, and formal written passives use 에 의해(서) — while very often the agent is simply omitted.