-이/히/리/기-

passive verbs: be seen, be caught, be opened, be held

Level 3 · TOPIK II · intermediate

How to use it

Added to some transitive verbs to make a passive verb: the object becomes the subject, and the doer (if mentioned) takes 에게/한테 (people) or 에 (things). The suffix must be learned per verb: 이 (보이다, 쓰이다), 히 (잡히다, 닫히다, 먹히다), 리 (열리다, 팔리다, 들리다), 기 (안기다, 끊기다).

Forming it

보다	→ 보이다
잡다	→ 잡히다
열다	→ 열리다
안다	→ 안기다

Not every verb has a passive suffix; many use -아/어지다 or 되다 instead (만들어지다, 사용되다). Double passives like 보여지다 are common but considered non-standard.

Examples

창문으로 산이 잘 보여요.
You can see the mountain well through the window.
바람 때문에 문이 갑자기 열렸어요.
The door suddenly opened because of the wind.

Compared with similar patterns

-아/어지다 makes passives for verbs without a suffix (and 'become' with adjectives). Some passive and causative forms look the same (보이다 = be seen / show), so the context decides.