Passive voice סָבִיל
Israeli Hebrew can mark a passive in נִפְעַל, פֻּעַל, and הֻפְעַל, but everyday speech often keeps an active verb with an unnamed “they.” News and instructions still use nifal freely; pual and hufal are denser in writing.
Prefer nifal or an active unnamed-subject clause in speech; read pual as the passive of piel and hufal as the passive of hifil, mostly in writing.
נִפְעַל pairs with פָּעַל: כָּתַב / נִכְתַּב, סָגַר / נִסְגַּר. פֻּעַל pairs with פִּעֵל: בִּקֵּשׁ / בֻּקַּשׁ. הֻפְעַל pairs with הִפְעִיל: הִכְנִיס / הֻכְנַס, הִגִּישׁ / הֻגַּשׁ. If you already know the active binyan, the passive partner is usually the one in this list, not a new root.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הַמִּכְתָּב נִכְתַּב אֶתְמוֹל | hamikhtav nikhtav etmol | The letter was written yesterday | |
| הַבַּיִת נִבְנָה בְּשָׁנָה שֶׁעָבְרָה | habayit nivnah beshanah she'avrah | The house was built last year | |
| הַמִּסְמָךְ הֻגַּשׁ בַּזְּמַן | hamismakh hugash bazman | The document was submitted on time |
| Active binyan | Passive partner | Example pair |
|---|---|---|
| פָּעַל | נִפְעַל | כָּתַב / נִכְתַּב |
| פִּעֵל | פֻּעַל | בִּקֵּשׁ / בֻּקַּשׁ |
| הִפְעִיל | הֻפְעַל | הִכְנִיס / הֻכְנַס |
A very Israeli way to avoid naming an agent is a third-person plural active: גָּנְבוּ לִי אֶת הַטֵּלֵפוֹן, אָמְרוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ פֶּקֶק. Nifal is also ordinary: הַטֵּלֵפוֹן נִגְנַב, נֶאֱמַר שֶׁ. Naming the agent with עַל יְדֵי is grammatical and more written: הַסֵּפֶר נִכְתַּב עַל יְדֵי.... Casual talk often just omits the agent.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| גָּנְבוּ לִי אֶת הָאוֹטוֹ | ganvu li et haoto | They stole my car / my car got stolen | |
| נֶאֱמַר שֶׁיִּהְיֶה גֶּשֶׁם | ne'emar sheyihiyeh geshem | It is said that there will be rain |
As in the nifal lesson, נִכְנַס, נִשְׁאַר, and נוֹלַד are not “was entered / was remained.” Use passive translations only when there is an implied agent or a clear paal partner. Middle readings such as נִפְתַּח and נִשְׁבַּר sit between passive and intransitive; English “opened / broke” is often the better gloss.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| הַדֶּלֶת נִפְתְּחָה | hadelat niftekhah | The door opened | |
| הוּא נִכְנַס בְּשֶׁקֶט | hu nikhnas besheket | He came in quietly |
Exceptions
Pual and hufal are scarce in chat
You will read בֻּקַּשׁ, סֻדַּר, הֻזְמַן, הֻכְנַס in notices and news. In a spoken story, speakers usually switch to active piel/hifil or to nifal. Recognition matters more than production at A2; production of pual/hufal can wait.
Hitpael is not the default passive
Hitpael is reflexive or reciprocal, not the partner of paal. הִתְכַּתֵּב is “corresponded,” not “was written.” For “was written,” stay with נִכְתַּב.
Common mistakes
הַמִּכְתָּב הִתְכַּתֵּב אֶתְמוֹל → הַמִּכְתָּב נִכְתַּב אֶתְמוֹל
The passive of כָּתַב is nifal נִכְתַּב, not hitpael.
אֲנִי נִכְתַּב אֶת הַמִּכְתָּב → אֲנִי כּוֹתֵב אֶת הַמִּכְתָּב
If the person is the writer, the verb is active; nifal makes the text the subject.
הַסֵּפֶר נִכְתַּב מִן הַמְּחַבֵּר as the usual agent phrase → הַסֵּפֶר נִכְתַּב עַל יְדֵי הַמְּחַבֵּר
The written agent phrase is עַל יְדֵי, not מִן.
Go on to
Nifal
Nifal is the binyan that often supplies the passive or intransitive counterpart of a paal verb. In Israeli speech it is also simply how a large set of verbs such as נִכְנַס, נִשְׁאַר, and נִרְאָה are stored.
B1 · 14 minThe seven binyanim
Hebrew verbs live in patterns called binyanim. The same three-letter root can pass through several patterns and pick up a new shade: גדל he grew, גידל he raised, הגדיל he enlarged.
B1 · 16 minHif'il
Hif'il is the pattern of הכניס, הדליק, התחיל, and הבין, with a past that often starts with ה־ and a present that starts with mem: מכניס, מדליק, מתחיל, מבין. Causative is the usual school label, and then many common hif'il verbs simply mean what they mean.
B1 · 15 minPi'el
Pi'el is the pattern of דיבר, בישל, שילם, and לימד, and in the present it wears a mem: מדבר, מבשל. Many pi'el verbs are simply the ordinary verb for that meaning, not a louder version of a pa'al cousin.
B1 · 15 min