Passive Voice in Arabic

In Brief

Arabic usually forms the passive voice by changing the short vowels inside the verb, not by adding a word equivalent to English “be”: كَتَبَ “he wrote” becomes كُتِبَ “it was written,” and يَكْتُبُ “he writes” becomes يُكْتَبُ “it is written/is being written.” The doer is normally left unmentioned, while the person or thing affected by the action becomes the grammatical subject.

Overview

The passive voice presents an event without making its doer the center of the sentence. Compare “The committee approved the plan” with “The plan was approved.” In the second sentence, the plan—not the committee—is the grammatical subject (the person or thing that the sentence is built around). Arabic makes the same contrast, but its basic passive is not formed with a separate auxiliary like English “was.” Instead, a change of vowel pattern marks the verb itself as passive.

This internal change is especially clear in fully vowelled Arabic: فَعَلَ becomes فُعِلَ in the past, while a basic present form becomes يُفْعَلُ. Short vowels are often omitted in everyday Arabic writing, so active and passive forms can sometimes have exactly the same visible consonants. For example, كتب could represent كَتَبَ “he wrote” or كُتِبَ “it was written.” Syntax and context then tell the reader which interpretation makes sense.

The internal passive is an important B1 feature of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), particularly in news, official notices, academic prose, instructions, and literary or religious texts. It builds on the Arabic past tense and the present-tense prefix system. Spoken dialects vary and often favor active or alternative constructions, but recognizing the standard passive is essential for reading and formal listening.

How It Works

The two core patterns

With a regular three-consonant Form I verb, the basic patterns are:

Time frame	Active pattern	Passive pattern	Typical meaning
Past/perfect	فَعَلَ	فُعِلَ	was done
Present/imperfect	يَفْعَلُ, يَفْعِلُ, or يَفْعُلُ	يُفْعَلُ	is done / is being done

The labels past/perfect and present/imperfect refer to Arabic verb forms. The past normally presents an event as complete; the present can describe something current, repeated, habitual, or future when another word supplies that meaning.

Using the root ك-ت-ب “write” makes the vowel change easy to see:

Voice and form	Arabic	Meaning
Active past	كَتَبَ	he wrote
Passive past	كُتِبَ	it was written
Active present	يَكْتُبُ	he writes / is writing
Passive present	يُكْتَبُ	it is written / is being written

In the past passive, the first root consonant takes u (ـُ) and the second takes i (ـِ): فُعِلَ. In the present passive, the prefix takes u, while the vowel before the final root consonant is normally a: يُفْعَلُ. The written letters do not necessarily change; the grammatical contrast may exist only in the short-vowel marks and pronunciation.

From active object to passive subject

Start with this active sentence:

كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الرِّسَالَةَ.

“The student wrote the letter.”

• الطَّالِبُ is the active subject: the doer.
• الرِّسَالَةَ is the direct object: the thing directly affected by the action.

The passive sentence is:

كُتِبَتِ الرِّسَالَةُ.

“The letter was written.”

The original doer is omitted. الرِّسَالَةُ is now the passive subject, traditionally called نَائِبُ الفَاعِلِ (“the substitute for the doer”). It takes the nominative case, the ending normally used for a subject. Case means the grammatical ending that shows a noun’s role: the object’s ـَ in الرِّسَالَةَ changes to the subject ending ـُ in الرِّسَالَةُ. These endings are usually not written in unvowelled text, but they matter in careful pronunciation and formal grammar.

The verb also agrees with the passive subject in gender where required. Because الرِّسَالَةُ is feminine, the past verb has feminine ـتْ and the present begins with تـ:

• كُتِبَتِ الرِّسَالَةُ — The letter was written.
• تُكْتَبُ الرِّسَالَةُ — The letter is being written / is written.

The small i heard after تْ in كُتِبَتِ الرِّسَالَةُ helps pronunciation when the next word begins with الـ; it is not a different passive ending.

Agreement and word order

When a passive verb comes before its passive subject—the usual verb-first order—the verb is generally singular, even if that following subject is plural:

• كُوفِئَ الطُّلَّابُ. — The students were rewarded.
• فُتِحَتِ النَّوَافِذُ. — The windows were opened.

When the subject is placed first, the verb agrees more fully:

• الطُّلَّابُ كُوفِئُوا. — The students were rewarded.
• الرِّسَالَتَانِ كُتِبَتَا. — The two letters were written.

Nonhuman plurals are normally treated as feminine singular for agreement, a general Arabic rule rather than a special feature of the passive: التَّقَارِيرُ نُشِرَتْ “the reports were published.” At B1, the safest production pattern is verb first, followed by the affected noun.

Present time, negation, and future time

The present passive pattern does not by itself distinguish English “is written” from “is being written.” Context does that:

• يُقْرَأُ الكِتَابُ كُلَّ عَامٍ. — The book is read every year.
• يُقْرَأُ الكِتَابُ الآنَ. — The book is being read now.

Normal present-tense particles can be used without changing the passive stem:

• لا يُسْمَحُ بِالتَّدْخِينِ. — Smoking is not allowed.
• لَنْ يُنْشَرَ الخَبَرُ اليَوْمَ. — The news will not be published today.
• لَمْ يُفْتَحِ المَتْحَفُ. — The museum was not opened.
• سَيُعْلَنُ القَرَارُ غَدًا. — The decision will be announced tomorrow.

The final mood ending changes after particles such as لَنْ and لَمْ, just as it does with an active present verb. The inner passive pattern remains recognizable.

Common derived verb forms

Arabic derived forms add consonants or lengthen sounds around a three-consonant root. Their passives follow their own regular vowel patterns. You do not need to memorize every pattern at once, but several are frequent in formal Arabic:

Verb form	Active past	Passive past	Passive present	Meaning of passive example
I	كَتَبَ	كُتِبَ	يُكْتَبُ	is/was written
II	دَرَّسَ	دُرِّسَ	يُدَرَّسُ	is/was taught
IV	أَعْلَنَ	أُعْلِنَ	يُعْلَنُ	is/was announced
VIII	اِكْتَشَفَ	اُكْتُشِفَ	يُكْتَشَفُ	is/was discovered
X	اِسْتَخْدَمَ	اُسْتُخْدِمَ	يُسْتَخْدَمُ	is/was used

Learn a derived passive together with its active verb. This is more reliable than trying to force every verb into the Form I pattern.

Weak verbs

A weak verb contains و or ي as a root consonant. Sound changes can make its passive look less transparent:

Active past	Passive past	Passive present	Meaning
قَالَ	قِيلَ	يُقَالُ	was/is said
بَاعَ	بِيعَ	يُبَاعُ	was/is sold
بَنَى	بُنِيَ	يُبْنَى	was/is built
دَعَا	دُعِيَ	يُدْعَى	was/is invited or called

Forms such as قِيلَ and بُنِيَ are extremely useful and are best learned as whole forms alongside the general rule.

Examples in Context

Arabic	English	Note
كُتِبَ الكِتَابُ.	The book was written.	Regular Form I past passive
يُقْرَأُ القُرْآنُ.	The Qur’an is being read.	Present passive; context gives the ongoing meaning
بُنِيَ المَسْجِدُ فِي القَرْنِ المَاضِي.	The mosque was built in the last century.	Weak verb بَنَى
تُدَرَّسُ العَرَبِيَّةُ هُنَا.	Arabic is taught here.	Feminine passive subject; Form II
فُتِحَ البَابُ عِنْدَ السَّاعَةِ التَّاسِعَةِ.	The door was opened at nine o’clock.	Completed past event
أُرْسِلَتِ الوَثَائِقُ بِالبَرِيدِ.	The documents were sent by mail.	Feminine agreement with a nonhuman plural
يُبَاعُ الخُبْزُ فِي هَذَا المَتْجَرِ.	Bread is sold in this shop.	Weak verb; habitual meaning
لا يُسْمَحُ بِالتَّصْوِيرِ دَاخِلَ المَتْحَفِ.	Photography is not allowed inside the museum.	Common notice; prepositional complement
أُعْلِنَتِ النَّتَائِجُ صَبَاحَ اليَوْمِ.	The results were announced this morning.	Form IV past passive
سَيُفْتَتَحُ المَعْرِضُ الأُسْبُوعَ المُقْبِلَ.	The exhibition will be opened next week.	Future prefix with Form VIII passive
اُكْتُشِفَ خَطَأٌ فِي التَّقْرِيرِ.	An error was discovered in the report.	Indefinite passive subject
يُسْتَخْدَمُ هَذَا التَّطْبِيقُ لِتَعَلُّمِ اللُّغَاتِ.	This app is used for learning languages.	Form X present passive
قِيلَ إِنَّ الطَّرِيقَ مُغْلَقٌ.	It was said that the road was closed.	Frequent impersonal expression
دُعِيَ جَمِيعُ المُوَظَّفِينَ إِلَى الاِجْتِمَاعِ.	All the employees were invited to the meeting.	Weak final verb دَعَا

Common Mistakes

Adding a form of “to be” like English

• Wrong: كَانَ كُتِبَ التَّقْرِيرُ for a simple “The report was written.”
• Right: كُتِبَ التَّقْرِيرُ.
• Why: The past passive verb already means “was written.” كَانَ can appear in more complex tense constructions, but it is not required to make an ordinary past passive.

Keeping the affected noun in the object case

• Wrong: كُتِبَ التَّقْرِيرَ.
• Right: كُتِبَ التَّقْرِيرُ.
• Why: Once the doer is removed, التَّقْرِيرُ becomes the passive subject and is nominative, not a direct object. The difference is clearest in fully vowelled formal Arabic.

Using active vowels with no doer

• Wrong: كَتَبَ التَّقْرِيرُ. when you mean “The report was written.”
• Right: كُتِبَ التَّقْرِيرُ.
• Why: كَتَبَ is active and means “he wrote.” كُتِبَ is passive. In unvowelled text both appear as كتب, so read the whole sentence before deciding how to pronounce it.

Forgetting feminine agreement

• Wrong: كُتِبَ الرِّسَالَةُ.
• Right: كُتِبَتِ الرِّسَالَةُ.
• Why: A following singular feminine passive subject normally requires a feminine verb. The same applies in the present: تُكْتَبُ الرِّسَالَةُ.

Treating the present passive as automatically progressive

• Wrong assumption: يُقْرَأُ الكِتَابُ can only mean “The book is being read.”
• Better reading: It can mean “The book is read” or “is being read.”
• Why: Words such as الآنَ “now” or كُلَّ عَامٍ “every year,” plus the wider context, distinguish an action in progress from a habit.

Naming the agent with بِوَاسِطَةِ in every passive sentence

• Awkward: كُتِبَ المَقَالُ بِوَاسِطَةِ الصَّحَفِيِّ.
• More natural: كَتَبَ الصَّحَفِيُّ المَقَالَ. — “The journalist wrote the article.”
• Why: The internal passive normally leaves the agent unmentioned. بِوَاسِطَةِ is most naturally associated with a means or instrument (“by means of”), while مِنْ قِبَلِ is used for agents in some modern formal styles. If the doer is important, an active sentence is often clearer.

Usage Notes

The internal passive is common in formal MSA because it lets a writer focus on an event, result, rule, or affected object. News reports use it when the doer is unknown or not central: أُعْلِنَتِ النَّتَائِجُ “the results were announced.” Notices use it to state general rules without addressing anyone directly: يُمْنَعُ الدُّخُولُ “entry is prohibited” and لا يُسْمَحُ بِالتَّدْخِينِ “smoking is not allowed.” Academic writing uses it to foreground procedures and findings.

The label المَبْنِيُّ لِلْمَجْهُولِ literally suggests that the verb is “built for the unknown,” but the doer need not truly be unknown. The writer may know the doer and omit it because it is obvious, irrelevant, deliberately concealed, or less important than the event. This is much like English, but Arabic’s internal passive has a stronger expectation that the agent will remain unstated.

English readers should not assume that every English passive has the most natural Arabic translation as an internal passive. Arabic often prefers an active sentence with a general subject such as النَّاسُ “people,” an unspecified subject, or a different phrasing altogether. Spoken varieties also have their own passive and passive-like patterns, and many speakers use active alternatives in everyday conversation. The forms in this article belong to formal standard Arabic.

In unvowelled writing, vocabulary and sentence structure do much of the work. In نشر الباحث النتائج, “the researcher” naturally acts and “the results” receive the action, so an active reading is expected. In نُشِرَت النتائج, the feminine verb agreement and lack of a doer support the passive reading. Reading aloud accurately therefore requires more than recognizing individual letters.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Passive participles describe results or states

Do not confuse a passive verb with a passive participle, an adjective-like form describing something that has undergone an action. From كَتَبَ comes مَكْتُوبٌ “written”; from أَغْلَقَ comes مُغْلَقٌ “closed.” Compare:

• أُغْلِقَ البَابُ عِنْدَ العَاشِرَةِ. — The door was closed at ten. (an event)
• البَابُ مُغْلَقٌ. — The door is closed. (a state)

English can use “was closed” for either meaning, so this event-versus-state distinction deserves attention when translating into Arabic.

The construction تَمَّ + verbal noun

Modern administrative and journalistic Arabic often uses تَمَّ plus a verbal noun (a noun naming the action), for example تَمَّ تَوْقِيعُ الاِتِّفَاقِيَّةِ “the agreement was signed” or more literally “the signing of the agreement was completed.” This is not the internal passive: it packages the event as a noun. It can be useful when completion is relevant, but repeated use can sound bureaucratic. The shorter وُقِّعَتِ الاِتِّفَاقِيَّةُ is often more direct.

Agent phrases in modern usage

Classical descriptions of the Arabic passive normally exclude an expressed agent. In contemporary translated, legal, and administrative prose, however, مِنْ قِبَلِ may introduce one: صُودِقَ عَلَى القَرَارِ مِنْ قِبَلِ اللَّجْنَةِ “the decision was approved by the committee.” This construction exists, but an active version—صَادَقَتِ اللَّجْنَةُ عَلَى القَرَارِ—is often less heavy. Treat مِنْ قِبَلِ as a formal modern option, not as a word-for-word equivalent that every English “by” requires.

Lexicalized passive-looking expressions

Some passive forms occur so often that learners can acquire them as set expressions:

• يُقَالُ إِنَّ... — It is said that ...
• مِنَ المُتَوَقَّعِ أَنْ... — It is expected that ...
• وُلِدَ فِي... — He was born in ...
• يُسْمَحُ بِـ... / يُمْنَعُ... — ... is allowed / prohibited

At higher levels, you will also meet impersonal passives whose following element is a prepositional phrase or clause rather than an ordinary promoted object. يُسْمَحُ بِالدُّخُولِ, for example, is best learned as a complete formal pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Transform short active sentences. Begin with a transitive verb (one that can take a direct object), remove the doer, change the verb’s vowels, and make the former object nominative: كَسَرَ الوَلَدُ النَّافِذَةَ → كُسِرَتِ النَّافِذَةُ.
2. Build active–passive pairs with full vowels. Practice five frequent pairs at a time, such as كَتَبَ / كُتِبَ, أَعْلَنَ / أُعْلِنَ, and اِسْتَخْدَمَ / اُسْتُخْدِمَ. Then hide the vowels and use the sentence context to recover the correct reading.
3. Collect passives from real formal Arabic. Headlines, museum notices, product instructions, and public announcements contain many examples. Mark the passive verb, identify the affected noun, and ask why the writer chose not to mention the doer.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Past Tense (Perfect) — provides the basic past-tense forms and suffixes on which the past passive builds.