Passive Voice in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi usually forms the passive with a past participle + जाना: किताब लिखी गई means “The book was written,” and यहाँ हिंदी बोली जाती है means “Hindi is spoken here.” The participle and जाना normally agree with the person or thing affected by the action. The doer is often omitted; when it matters, formal Hindi can mark it with द्वारा or के द्वारा.

Overview

The passive voice presents an event from the viewpoint of the person or thing affected. Compare राम ने किताब लिखी (“Ram wrote the book”) with किताब राम द्वारा लिखी गई (“The book was written by Ram”). The first sentence foregrounds Ram, the doer. The second foregrounds किताब, the thing written. A doer is also called an agent (the person or force that performs an action).

Hindi introduces this pattern around B1 because it builds on forms already used in the simple past: लिखा, लिखी, लिखे and किया, की, किए. These are past participles (verb forms that present an action as completed). To make a passive, Hindi combines one of these forms with जाना. Here जाना does not literally mean “to go”; it is an auxiliary (a helping verb) that marks the passive and carries tense and aspect.

The Hindi passive is common when the agent is unknown, obvious, unimportant, or deliberately left unnamed. You will often see it in news reports, public notices, instructions, academic prose, and administration. English uses passives freely in many settings, but natural conversational Hindi often prefers an active sentence with लोग, कोई, or an understood subject. Learning the passive therefore means learning both its form and where Hindi speakers actually choose it.

How It Works

The core transformation

A basic active sentence has this shape:

agent + object + active verb

राम ने चिट्ठी लिखी। — “Ram wrote the letter.”

The corresponding passive has this shape:

affected person or thing + optional agent + past participle + जाना

चिट्ठी राम द्वारा लिखी गई। — “The letter was written by Ram.”

The active object चिट्ठी becomes the grammatical subject of the passive—the element that controls agreement. The active marker ने cannot simply stay on the agent. If Ram is mentioned in the passive, formal Hindi uses राम द्वारा or राम के द्वारा.

Forming the participle

For many verbs, remove -ना from the infinitive and add an agreeing ending. The usual endings are -ा for masculine singular, -ी for feminine singular or plural, and -े for masculine plural or honorific agreement.

Infinitive	Masculine singular	Feminine	Masculine plural	Meaning
लिखना	लिखा	लिखी	लिखे	write/written
पढ़ना	पढ़ा	पढ़ी	पढ़े	read
खोलना	खोला	खोली	खोले	open/opened
बनाना	बनाया	बनाई	बनाए	make/made
करना	किया	की	किए	do/done
लेना	लिया	ली	लिए	take/taken
देना	दिया	दी	दिए	give/given

The passive auxiliary agrees too:

Passive subject	Complete passive phrase	Translation
दरवाज़ा (masculine singular)	दरवाज़ा खोला गया।	The door was opened.
खिड़की (feminine singular)	खिड़की खोली गई।	The window was opened.
दरवाज़े (masculine plural)	दरवाज़े खोले गए।	The doors were opened.
खिड़कियाँ (feminine plural)	खिड़कियाँ खोली गईं।	The windows were opened.

In careful written Hindi, the feminine plural past form of जाना is गईं, as in खिड़कियाँ खोली गईं. In speech, the nasal distinction may be less easy for a learner to hear, but it remains important in writing.

Tense and aspect

The participle names the action; the form of जाना locates or presents that action in time. The table uses masculine singular पत्र (“letter”) so that the pattern is easy to compare.

Meaning	Hindi pattern	Example	Translation
regular/general action	participle + जाता है	पत्र भेजा जाता है।	The letter is sent.
regular action in the past	participle + जाता था	पत्र भेजा जाता था।	The letter used to be sent.
completed past event	participle + गया	पत्र भेजा गया।	The letter was sent.
completed event relevant now	participle + गया है	पत्र भेजा गया है।	The letter has been sent.
earlier completed event	participle + गया था	पत्र भेजा गया था।	The letter had been sent.
future	participle + जाएगा	पत्र भेजा जाएगा।	The letter will be sent.
possibility, wish, or instruction	participle + जाए	पत्र भेजा जाए।	The letter should/may be sent.
infinitive or verbal noun	participle + जाना	पत्र भेजा जाना आवश्यक है।	The letter must be sent.

For feminine किताब, the same sequence becomes भेजी जाती है, भेजी गई, and भेजी जाएगी. For masculine plural पत्र, use भेजे जाते हैं, भेजे गए, and भेजे जाएँगे.

The English present progressive passive (“is being written”) does not map neatly onto a single everyday Hindi form. Depending on context, Hindi may use लिखा जा रहा है, especially in contemporary formal usage: रिपोर्ट लिखी जा रही है (“The report is being written”). Here जा रहा है presents the passive process as ongoing and agrees with the passive subject: सड़क बनाई जा रही है, मकान बनाए जा रहे हैं.

Negation

Place नहीं before the passive verbal group or immediately before the part being negated:

• यह दवा यहाँ नहीं बेची जाती। — “This medicine is not sold here.”
• पत्र अभी तक नहीं भेजा गया है। — “The letter has not been sent yet.”
• दरवाज़ा खोला नहीं गया। — “The door was not opened.”

The last order can put stronger contrast on the action: it was not opened (perhaps something else happened). For a neutral negative, putting नहीं before the whole verbal group is a safe choice.

Naming the agent

Hindi frequently omits the agent: चोर पकड़ा गया (“The thief was caught”). When the agent is relevant, several markers are possible, but they are not interchangeable in every style.

Marker	Typical use	Example
द्वारा	formal, official, written	यह रिपोर्ट समिति द्वारा तैयार की गई।
के द्वारा	formal and explicit; somewhat heavier	यह योजना सरकार के द्वारा शुरू की गई।
से	agent, means, or source depending on context	यह चित्र एक बच्चे से बनवाया गया।

द्वारा is the clearest equivalent of formal English “by.” के द्वारा is also correct but can sound bureaucratic. से has many meanings—“from,” “with,” “through,” and sometimes “by”—so context must make the relationship clear. In ordinary conversation, rewriting the sentence actively is often more natural than adding a heavy agent phrase.

Which verbs can be passive?

A straightforward passive normally starts from a transitive verb (a verb that acts on an object): someone writes a letter, opens a door, or makes tea. That object can become the passive subject.

An intransitive verb (a verb that does not take such an object), such as आना “come,” सोना “sleep,” or गिरना “fall,” does not normally form this type of passive. Forms such as मुझसे चला नहीं जाता belong to a related impersonal construction and express inability or difficulty: “I cannot manage to walk.” That is not simply the passive of an active sentence with a promoted object.

Objects marked with को

A person affected by an action may keep को in a passive sentence:

घायल आदमी को अस्पताल ले जाया गया। — “The injured man was taken to hospital.”

Because आदमी को is marked with को, it does not control ordinary agreement. The verbal phrase therefore appears in the default masculine singular form ले जाया गया, not ले जाए गए. This is an important contrast with an unmarked plural subject: घायल लोग अस्पताल ले जाए गए (“The injured people were taken to hospital”).

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
खाना खाया गया।	The food was eaten.	Masculine singular, completed past
यह किताब राम द्वारा लिखी गई।	This book was written by Ram.	Feminine agreement; formal agent
यहाँ हिंदी बोली जाती है।	Hindi is spoken here.	General practice
बैठक कल आयोजित की जाएगी।	The meeting will be held tomorrow.	Feminine future passive
सभी आवेदन ऑनलाइन जमा किए जाएँगे।	All applications will be submitted online.	Masculine plural future
दरवाज़ा अभी तक नहीं खोला गया है।	The door has not been opened yet.	Negative present perfect
इस कमरे की रोज़ सफ़ाई की जाती है।	This room is cleaned every day.	Repeated institutional action
नए पुल का निर्माण किया जा रहा है।	A new bridge is being constructed.	Ongoing process
यात्रियों से टिकट दिखाने का अनुरोध किया जाता है।	Passengers are requested to show their tickets.	Formal public announcement
घायल महिला को अस्पताल ले जाया गया।	The injured woman was taken to hospital.	को triggers default agreement
यह नियम अगले महीने से लागू किया जाएगा।	This rule will be implemented from next month.	Formal future statement
निर्णय सर्वसम्मति से लिया गया।	The decision was taken unanimously.	Agent omitted; manner marked by से
बच्चों को कहानी सुनाई गई।	The children were told a story.	Feminine agreement with unmarked कहानी
फ़ॉर्म साफ़ अक्षरों में भरा जाना चाहिए।	The form should be filled in clear handwriting.	Passive infinitive with चाहिए

Common Mistakes

Treating जाना as literal “go”

• Wrong interpretation: किताब लिखी गई = “The book went written.”
• Right: किताब लिखी गई = “The book was written.”
• Why: In this construction, जाना is a passive auxiliary. Translate the complete verbal phrase, not each word separately.

Forgetting agreement with the passive subject

• Wrong: किताब लिखा गया।
• Right: किताब लिखी गई।
• Why: किताब is feminine, so both लिखी and गई are feminine. English passive participles do not change this way, so English-speaking learners need to check the Hindi noun’s gender deliberately.

Keeping ने on the old agent

• Wrong: किताब राम ने लिखी गई।
• Right: किताब राम द्वारा लिखी गई।
• Also natural: राम ने किताब लिखी।
• Why: राम ने belongs to the active past construction. Use द्वारा/के द्वारा in a formal passive, or keep the whole sentence active.

Making every English passive into a Hindi passive

• Awkward in casual conversation: मेरे द्वारा चाय बनाई गई।
• More natural: मैंने चाय बनाई। — “I made tea.”
• Why: A passive with an explicitly named first-person agent sounds unnecessarily official unless the context calls for that style.

Ignoring को when deciding agreement

• Wrong: महिलाओं को बुलायी गईं।
• Right: महिलाओं को बुलाया गया।
• Why: The को-marked phrase does not control agreement, so the passive uses default masculine singular. Without को, a grammatical sentence with a different nuance is महिलाएँ बुलाई गईं (“The women were called/invited”).

Confusing passive and causative forms

• Passive: काम किया गया। — “The work was done.”
• Causative: मैंने काम करवाया। — “I had the work done.”
• Why: The passive hides or backgrounds the doer. The causative introduces someone who arranges for another person to perform the action.

Usage Notes

Formal writing favors the passive

Official Hindi often uses passives to focus on procedures and results rather than individuals: आवेदन स्वीकार किए जाएँगे, जाँच की गई, यह सूचित किया जाता है कि.... This can make a statement sound neutral or institutional. Academic and news writing use the same resource when evidence, decisions, or processes matter more than who performed them.

Conversation often favors an active alternative

Where English naturally says “Hindi is spoken here,” Hindi can use यहाँ हिंदी बोली जाती है, but it can also say यहाँ लोग हिंदी बोलते हैं (“People speak Hindi here”). The active version is often warmer and more conversational. Likewise, किसी ने मेरा फ़ोन चुरा लिया (“Someone stole my phone”) may sound more immediate than मेरा फ़ोन चुरा लिया गया (“My phone was stolen”).

Do not assume that one version is always better. Choose according to focus: use the passive when the result or affected item is central, and an active sentence when the actor is known or easy to express.

द्वारा can sound bureaucratic

English uses “by” comfortably even in casual passives. Hindi द्वारा is much more strongly associated with formal written style. यह कविता निराला द्वारा लिखी गई थी is suitable in a biography or exam answer. In conversation, निराला ने यह कविता लिखी थी will usually sound simpler and more natural.

Common fixed and impersonal expressions

Some passive patterns are conventional in signs and polite formal language:

• यहाँ धूम्रपान नहीं किया जाता। — “Smoking is not permitted/done here.”
• कृपया ध्यान दिया जाए। — “Please pay attention.”
• आपसे अनुरोध किया जाता है कि... — “You are requested to...”
• माना जाता है कि... — “It is believed/considered that...”
• कहा जाता है कि... — “It is said that...”

These often correspond to English impersonal passives with “it,” but Hindi does not need a dummy word equivalent to English “it.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Passive infinitives in rules and obligations

The form participle + जाना can function as an infinitive (the dictionary-like verb form used as a noun or complement): किया जाना, भेजा जाना, भरी जानी. It agrees when the surrounding structure requires it.

• यह काम आज किया जाना है। — “This work is to be done today.”
• रिपोर्ट शुक्रवार तक भेजी जानी चाहिए। — “The report should be sent by Friday.”
• इन प्रश्नों के उत्तर दिए जाने हैं। — “The answers to these questions are to be given.”

This pattern is especially useful in schedules, instructions, policy statements, and descriptions of requirements.

Passive subjunctive and formal commands

Forms with जाए/जाएँ can express a proposal, desired procedure, or indirect command:

• अब बैठक शुरू की जाए। — “Let the meeting now be started.”
• सभी दस्तावेज़ जमा किए जाएँ। — “All documents should be submitted.”
• यह सुनिश्चित किया जाए कि दरवाज़ा बंद हो। — “It should be ensured that the door is closed.”

This avoids commanding a particular person directly and is therefore common in official instructions. It can sound distant or overly formal in an ordinary personal request.

The passive versus resultative descriptions

Not every participle describes a passive event. दरवाज़ा बंद है usually describes a state: “The door is closed.” दरवाज़ा बंद किया गया है explicitly presents an action: “The door has been closed.” Similarly, दुकान खुली है means “The shop is open,” while दुकान खोली गई है means someone has opened the shop. The presence of जाना helps signal the eventive passive.

Related impersonal constructions with से

Hindi can combine a person marked by से with a passive-looking verb to describe ability, willingness, or difficulty:

• मुझसे इतना खाना नहीं खाया जाता। — “I cannot manage to eat this much food.”
• उससे चुप नहीं रहा गया। — “He/She could not remain silent.”

These sentences do not merely report that an action was performed “by” someone. They portray the action as beyond that person’s control or capacity. This area overlaps with भाववाच्य (impersonal voice), a later topic, so it is best learned as a distinct meaning rather than as an ordinary agentive passive.

Passive and compound verbs

The main participle may itself contain a compound or causative idea, producing longer verbal groups. For example, यह काम विशेषज्ञों से करवाया गया means “This work was got done by specialists.” Here करवाना is causative (“have something done”), and गया makes the whole event passive. Parse such sentences from right to left: first identify the tense-bearing form of जाना, then identify the participle before it, and finally ask who arranged, performed, or underwent the action.

Practice Tips

1. Convert sentences in pairs. Start with five active past sentences such as सीमा ने खिड़की खोली. Move the object to the front, remove ने, add the correct participle and form of जाना, then decide whether the agent is worth keeping: खिड़की सीमा द्वारा खोली गई.
2. Build an agreement grid. Practice one verb with four nouns: पत्र भेजा गया, चिट्ठी भेजी गई, पत्र भेजे गए, चिट्ठियाँ भेजी गईं. Then repeat in the present and future. This separates the passive pattern from the gender endings that English does not have.
3. Collect real examples by register. In news or public notices, underline गया/गई/गए, जाता/जाती, and जाएगा/जाएँगे. In conversation, notice when speakers instead choose लोग, किसी ने, or a named active subject. Learning this contrast will make your Hindi sound less mechanically translated.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Simple Past Tense — supplies the participle forms and agreement patterns used in the passive.
• Next step: Impersonal Voice (Bhav Vachya) — develops related constructions such as मुझसे चला नहीं जाता, where the focus is inability or an impersonal experience rather than a normal passive event.