Lesson 23

Welcome to Part 2 of the Passive Voice lesson! In Part 1, we learned how sentences in the passive voice are generally made. In this part, let us take a look at how the passive voice in English and in Korean are different, as well as some more example sentences.

Let’s review a little bit first.

Suffixes for passive voice in Korean:
Verb stem + -이/히/리/기-
Verb stem + -아/어/여지다

Again, there is no fixed rule for which verb stem should be followed by one of the -이/히/리/기- suffixes and which should be followed by -아/어/여지다. Some verbs even have an identical meaning when followed by either of these two grammar points!

Ex)
자르다 = to cut
+ -이/히/리/기- → 잘리다 = to be cut
+ -아/어/여지다 → 잘라지다 = to be cut

풀다 = to untie, to solve
+ -이/히/리/기- → 풀리다 = to come untied, to be solved
+ -아/어/여지다 → 풀어지다 = to come untied, to be solved

Another Meaning for Passive Voice Sentences in Korean

In Korean, in addition to the meaning of an action “being done”, the meaning of “possibility” or “capability” is also very commonly used with passive voice sentences (The basic idea is that, when you do something, if something gets done, it is doable. If something does not get done when you do or try to do it, it is not doable or not possible to do).

This meaning of “possibility” or “capability” does not signify YOUR ability or capability so much as it does the general “possibility” of that certain action being done.

Examples

만들다 is “to make”, and when you say 만들어지다, in the standard passive voice sense, it would mean “to be made.” However, 만들어지다 can not only mean “to be made”, but it can also mean “can be made”.

Ex)
이 핸드폰은 중국에서 만들어져요.
= This cell phone is made in China.

케이크를 예쁘게 만들고 싶은데, 예쁘게 안 만들어져요.
= I want to make this cake in a pretty shape, but I cannot make it pretty.

In the 2nd example sentence, you can see that the person is NOT directly saying that he or she can NOT make a pretty cake, but that the cake does NOT get made in a pretty shape.

If you just say, “예쁘게 못 만들어요”, it might mean that you lack the ability to make it pretty.

More Examples

이거 안 잘라져요.
= This does not get cut.
= I cannot cut it. (more accurate)

안 들려요.
= It is not heard.
= I cannot hear you. (more accurate)

안 보여요.
= It is not seen.
= I cannot see it.

하다 vs. 되다

Since the passive voice represents “possibility” or “capability”, the passive voice form of 하다, which is 되다, takes on the meaning of “can” as well.

하다 = to do (active voice)
되다 = to be done, to get done (passive voice)
되다 = can be done, can do (possibility/capability)

Ex)
이거 안 돼요.
= This does not get done.
= I cannot do this. (more accurate)
= I cannot seem to do it. (more accurate)

이해가 안 돼요.
= Understanding is not done.
= It is not understood.
= I cannot understand. (more accurate)
= I do not understand. (more accurate)

More Examples With 되다

From there, we can create additional patterns with 되다.

Originally, 되다 means “to be done”, but it can also mean things like:
- can be served
- to be available
- can be spoken
- can be done
- can be made
- can be finished
- etc.

Ex)
여기 김밥 돼요?
= Do you have/serve kimbap here?

영어가 안 돼서 걱정이에요.
= I am worried because I cannot speak English.

오늘 안에 돼요?
= Can you finish it today?

So how often does the passive voice take on the meaning of “possibility”?

Through Part 1 and 2 of this lesson, we have looked at how passive voice sentences are formed and used. First, you need to figure out (by being exposed to a lot of Korean sentences or by memorizing the suffixes that go with each verb) which of the endings is used in the passive voice form. Also, you need to tell from the context of the sentence whether the verb is used in the original “passive” voice form or in the sense of “possibility/capability”.

Often times, though, sentences that would certainly be in the passive voice are written in the active voice in Korean. This is because, in English, you use the passive voice in order to NOT show the subject of a certain action in a sentence; in Korean, you can easily drop the subject, so you do not have to worry about it as much.

For example, when you say, “This was made in Korea”, who are you referring to? Who made it? Do you know? Probably not. Therefore, in English, you just say that “it” was made in Korea. In Korean, you do not have to worry about the subject of the verb, so you can just use the active voice form and say, “한국에서 만든 거예요” or “한국에서 만들었어요.” In these two sentences, the verbs are in the active voice, but no one asks, “So who made it?” as it is understood that, “It was made (by somebody) in Korea.”