haru Korean › Grammar › Level 4A › 피동 -이/히/리/기 (정리)
피동 -이/히/리/기 (정리) — passive verbs — the full set, who or what caused it, and things that go wrong
Passive verbs — the full set, who or what caused it, and things that go wrong. Korean grammar for upper intermediate learners — Level 4A, lesson 8: 문이 잠겨 버렸어요 (The door locked itself — passives for breakdowns and accidents).
What it means
A passive verb tells what happens to something, not who does it: 제가 문을 잠갔어요 'I locked the door' becomes 문이 잠겼어요 'the door locked' — the thing becomes the subject with 이/가, and the doer disappears, because nobody did it, nobody knows, or it doesn't matter. Korean makes these verbs by adding -이-, -히-, -리- or -기- to the stem. You met ten in Lesson 3A-6; today completes the set. The suffix is hard to predict, so learn each verb as a word — but the stem gives a hint: -이- often after a vowel or ㅎ (보이다, 놓이다, 쌓이다, 끼이다, 나뉘다), -히- after ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅈ (닫히다, 막히다, 밟히다, 잡히다, 찍히다, 갇히다), -리- after ㄹ and for ㄷ- and 르-irregular verbs (열리다, 걸리다, 팔리다, 밀리다, 흔들리다; 듣다 → 들리다; 자르다 → 잘리다), and -기- after ㄴ ㄶ ㅁ ㅅ (안기다, 끊기다, 빼앗기다; 잠그다 drops its ㅡ: 잠기다). If you do want to name who did it, a person or an animal takes 에게 or 한테 — 도둑이 경찰에게 붙잡혔어요 — and a thing or a force takes 에: 바람에 문이 닫혔어요, 눈에 길이 덮였어요. When something happens to your body or your belongings, the object keeps 을/를 and you stay the unspoken subject: 지하철에서 발을 밟혔어요 'someone trod on my foot', 길에서 가방을 빼앗겼어요 'I had my bag snatched'. For unwelcome surprises, add -아/어 버리다 (Lesson 2A-8): 문이 잠겨 버렸어요. Passive verbs are ordinary verbs, so they take every tense and ending.
Forms
| Pattern | When | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -이- | 모음 · ㅎ 뒤에 자주 | 보다 + 이 → 보이다 |
| -히- | ㄱ · ㄷ · ㅂ · ㅈ 뒤에 자주 | 닫다 + 히 → 닫히다 |
| -리- | ㄹ 뒤 · ㄷ 불규칙 · 르 불규칙 | 열다 + 리 → 열리다 |
| -기- | ㄴ · ㄶ · ㅁ · ㅅ 뒤에 자주 · 잠그다는 ㅡ가 빠져요 | 안다 + 기 → 안기다 |
Key points
- Passive = what happens to something, not who does it: 제가 문을 잠갔어요 → 문이 잠겼어요. 을/를 → 이/가, and the verb takes -이- · -히- · -리- · -기-. Lesson 3A-6 gave ten of them; today the full set — learn them as words, and use the 받침 only as a hint.
- Who did it? A person or an animal → N에게 · N한테 (경찰에게 붙잡혔어요); a thing or a force → N에 (바람에 문이 닫혔어요). Your body or your things keep 을/를: 발을 밟혔어요 · 가방을 빼앗겼어요. Unwelcome? Add -아/어 버리다 (Lesson 2A-8): 잠겨 버렸어요.
Examples
- 누가 했는지보다 무슨 일이 생겼는지가 중요할 때 써요: 제가 문을 잠갔어요 → 문이 잠겼어요.
- -이-: 보이다 · 놓이다 · 쌓이다 · 끼이다 -히-: 닫히다 · 막히다 · 밟히다 · 갇히다
- -리-: 열리다 · 걸리다 · 팔리다 · 들리다 · 밀리다 -기-: 잠기다 · 끊기다 · 안기다 · 빼앗기다
- 사람이나 동물이 했으면 N에게/한테, 바람 같은 것은 N에: 경찰에게 붙잡혔어요 · 바람에 문이 닫혔어요.
- 내 몸이나 내 물건에 생긴 일은 을/를을 그대로 써요: 발을 밟혔어요 · 가방을 빼앗겼어요.
- 싫은 일이 생겼을 때는 -아/어 버리다와 같이 써요: 문이 잠겨 버렸어요.
Where university textbooks teach it
This point also appears in: Seoul National University Korean 3A, lesson 6; Yonsei University Korean 3-1, lesson 3; Ewha Womans University Korean 3-2, lesson 11; Hongik University Korean 2B, lesson 10; Hanyang University Korean 3-1, lesson 3.
Also in this lesson
- V-아/어지다 · N되다 · N을/를 당하다/받다 — passives without -이/히/리/기 — -아/어지다, N되다, and 당하다 · 받다
- 피동 + -아/어 있다 — is locked · is open · is lying there — describing the state things are in
- 사동과 피동 — causative or passive? — telling them apart, even when they look the same