Two passives in Korean
Korean has two passive systems. The lexical passive uses one of four short suffixes — -이-, -히-, -리-, -기- — slotted into the verb stem. It's a closed list: only certain verbs have a passive form, and you mostly memorize them. The productive passive adds -아/어지다 to the verb's -아/어 form and works on most action verbs. Knowing both — and which to pick — is the key to reading and listening at B1.
Lexical passive: -이-, -히-, -리-, -기-
A small set of common verbs has a built-in passive partner. The four allomorphs (-이 / -히 / -리 / -기) are distributed by phonology — you mostly just memorize each pair. 보다 (see) → 보이다 (be seen / be visible). 먹다 (eat) → 먹히다 (be eaten). 듣다 (hear) → 들리다 (be heard / be audible). 닫다 (close) → 닫히다 (be closed). 쓰다 (write/use) → 쓰이다 (be written/used). 잡다 (catch) → 잡히다 (be caught). 놓다 (put) → 놓이다 (be placed). 읽다 (read) → 읽히다 (be read). 팔다 (sell) → 팔리다 (be sold). 안다 (hug) → 안기다 (be hugged). The agent (the doer) takes -에게 or -한테: 고양이가 개에게 잡혔어요 = 'The cat was caught by the dog.' Many of these passives are intransitive descriptions, not 'true' passives in the English sense: 잘 보여요 = 'It's clearly visible' (not 'It is being seen by someone').
Which suffix? Memorize, don't predict
There are tendencies — -이- after some final consonants, -히- after -ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ, -리- after -ㄹ, -기- after some specific verbs — but exceptions abound. Treat each passive verb as a separate vocabulary item and learn it together with its active partner: 닫다 / 닫히다, 읽다 / 읽히다, 듣다 / 들리다. After a year of exposure the patterns start clicking, but list-memorization is reliable from day one.
Productive passive: -아/어지다
-아/어지다 attaches to the -아/어 form of an action verb and means 'be done / become done'. 만들다 (make) → 만들어지다 (be made / be created). 이 케이크는 우리 엄마가 만들어졌어요. ✗ — wrong, mix-up. Correct: 이 케이크는 우리 엄마에 의해 만들어졌어요. = 'This cake was made by my mom' (with -에 의해 for 'by'). For 'become' meanings on adjectives, -아/어지다 is the workhorse: 예쁘다 → 예뻐지다 = 'become pretty'. 건강하다 → 건강해지다 = 'become healthy'. 좋다 → 좋아지다 = 'get better'. This adjective-with--아/어지다 is the most frequent use in everyday speech.
When each is used
Lexical passive is preferred where it exists — Korean speakers reach for 보이다 / 들리다 / 닫히다 etc. naturally. -아/어지다 is the fallback when no lexical passive exists, and is essentially the only choice for adjective→change-of-state. Some verbs allow both, with subtle nuance: 만들어지다 (productive) emphasizes the event of being made; lexical passives often emphasize the resulting state. 문이 닫혔어요 = 'The door is closed (now).' 문이 닫아졌어요 sounds odd — Koreans go with the lexical 닫히다 here.
Marking the agent — -에게, -한테, -에 의해
If you mention who did it: animate doers take -에게 (formal) or -한테 (casual). 고양이한테 먹혔어요 = '(It) was eaten by the cat.' Inanimate causes take -에 / -에 의해: 바람에 문이 닫혔어요 = 'The door was closed by the wind.' In formal writing, -에 의해 is the most explicit 'by': 이 책은 그분에 의해 쓰여졌어요 = 'This book was written by him/her.' In speech, agents are often dropped: 김치는 한국에서 먹어요 stays active even when English would passive-ize ('Kimchi is eaten in Korea').
Quick contrast
Active 닫다 (I close) → lexical passive 닫히다 (gets closed) → productive passive 닫아지다 (rare; sounds off). Active 만들다 (I make) → no clean lexical passive → productive 만들어지다 (be made). Active 예쁘다 (be pretty, adj.) → productive 예뻐지다 (become pretty). The pick order: lexical-passive-if-it-exists; otherwise -아/어지다; for adjectives, -아/어지다 by default.
