B1 Verb System 11 min read Medium

The Persian Passive: How things 'get done' (شدن)

To make a verb passive in Persian, combine its past participle with a conjugated form of شدن.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

To make a passive sentence in Persian, use the past participle of your verb followed by the conjugated form of 'shodan' (to become).

  • Find the past participle (infinitive minus -an, plus -e): 'kardan' -> 'karde'.
  • Add the conjugated form of 'shodan' (to become) after the participle.
  • The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive (or is omitted).
Past Participle + شدن (conjugated) = Passive Voice

Overview

The Persian passive voice provides a fundamental mechanism for shifting the focus of a sentence from the agent (the one performing the action) to the recipient of the action or the action itself. This is particularly useful when the agent is unknown, unimportant, obvious, or when you wish to deliberately obscure their identity. In Persian, this grammatical construction is primarily formed using the past participle of a main verb combined with conjugated forms of the verb شُدَن (shodan), meaning 'to become'.

Understanding شُدَن as 'to become' is crucial, as the passive literally describes something 'becoming done' or 'being made done'. This linguistic principle underlies its formation across all tenses, offering a consistent and logical system.

Mastering the passive voice is a hallmark of B1-level proficiency, allowing you to comprehend and produce more sophisticated and nuanced expressions. It is indispensable for understanding news reports, formal documents, academic texts, and even for expressing certain everyday occurrences where the actor is secondary to the event. Without it, your communication might feel rigid, constantly requiring explicit agents even when they are irrelevant.

The passive voice enables a more natural and idiomatic flow in Persian, aligning your expression with how native speakers convey information in various contexts.

How This Grammar Works

At its core, the Persian passive voice transforms an active sentence, where the subject performs an action on an object, into a passive one, where the original object becomes the new subject and receives the action. For instance, in the active sentence او نامِه را نِوِشت (u nāme-rā nevešt, 'He wrote the letter'), او ('he') is the agent and نامِه ('letter') is the direct object. To make this passive, the focus shifts to نامِه, which now becomes the subject: نامِه نِوِشتِه شُد (nāme nevešte šod, 'The letter was written').
Notice how the original object, نامِه, loses its را (rā) direct object marker and assumes the subject position.
This transformation is not arbitrary; it adheres to a consistent formula: the past participle of the main verb is combined with a conjugated form of شُدَن (shodan). The verb شُدَن acts as the auxiliary verb for the passive construction, indicating the tense, mood, and person/number agreement with the new subject. It's akin to the auxiliary 'to be' in English passive constructions ('the letter was written'), but in Persian, شُدَن carries the inherent meaning of transformation or 'becoming'.
This conceptual link is key to internalizing the Persian passive. It's not just a grammatical rule; it's a semantic statement about a state being achieved or an action being undergone.
Consider the active verb خُوردَن (xordan, 'to eat'). Its past participle is خُوردِه (xorde, 'eaten'). When combined with شُدَن, you get constructions like خُوردِه شُد (xorde šod, 'it was eaten') or خُوردِه می‌شَوَد (xorde mi-šavad, 'it is eaten / being eaten').
This structure applies universally to all transitive verbs, whether simple or compound. For compound verbs, the شُدَن typically replaces the 'light verb' component, often کَردَن (kardan, 'to do/make'), simplifying the transformation significantly. This systematic approach makes the Persian passive relatively predictable once the core pattern is understood.

Formation Pattern

1
Forming the Persian passive voice is a systematic process involving two main steps: deriving the past participle of the main verb and then conjugating the auxiliary verb شُدَن (shodan) to match the desired tense, person, and number. This section will detail the precise rules for both simple and compound verbs.
2
1. Forming the Past Participle:
3
The past participle in Persian is derived from the past stem of the verb. You take the past stem and add the suffix -ه (-e). This suffix is always added, regardless of the stem's ending. It typically indicates the state of having undergone the action.
4
For simple verbs:
5
Infinitive: نِوِشتَن (neveštan, 'to write')
6
Past Stem: نِوِشت (nevešt)
7
Past Participle: نِوِشتِه (nevešte, 'written')
8
Infinitive: خُوردَن (xordan, 'to eat')
9
Past Stem: خُورد (xord)
10
Past Participle: خُوردِه (xorde, 'eaten')
11
Infinitive: دیدَن (didan, 'to see')
12
Past Stem: دید (did)
13
Past Participle: دیدِه (dide, 'seen')
14
For compound verbs: Compound verbs often consist of a noun or adjective followed by a 'light verb' like کَردَن (kardan, 'to do'), دادَن (dādan, 'to give'), شُدَن (shodan, 'to become'). For the passive, the noun/adjective remains unchanged, and the light verb کَردَن (kardan) is replaced by شُدَن (shodan), or the light verb itself is conjugated in the passive if it’s not کَردَن. However, the most common pattern involves کَردَن.
15
Active: تَمیز کَردَن (tamiz kardan, 'to clean')
16
Passive Participle Equivalent (Conceptually): تَمیز شُدَن (tamiz šodan, 'to become cleaned'). Here, تَمیز is the noun/adjective, and شُدَن directly replaces کَردَن and is conjugated.
17
2. Conjugating شُدَن (shodan) for Tense and Person:
18
Once you have the past participle, you attach it to the appropriate conjugated form of شُدَن. The subject of the passive sentence determines the person and number of شُدَن.
19
Present Simple Passive: Combines the past participle with the present simple conjugation of شُدَن (based on the present stem شَو). This construction is often used for habitual actions or general truths.
20
مَن نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَم (man nevešte mi-šavam, 'I am written')
21
او نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَد (u nevešte mi-šavad, 'He/She/It is written')
22
آنها نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَند (ānhā nevešte mi-šavand, 'They are written')
23
Present Progressive Passive: Formed with دارید (dārid, 'to have/be in the process of') + past participle + می‌شَوَد (mi-šavad). This implies an action currently in progress.
24
نامِه دارَد نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَد (nāme dārad nevešte mi-šavad, 'The letter is being written')
25
Past Simple Passive (Past Absolute): Combines the past participle with the past simple conjugation of شُدَن (based on the past stem شُد). This is the most common passive tense.
26
مَن نِوِشتِه شُدَم (man nevešte šodam, 'I was written')
27
نامِه نِوِشتِه شُد (nāme nevešte šod, 'The letter was written')
28
کِتابها خُواندِه شُدَند (ketāb-hā xānde šodand, 'The books were read')
29
Past Imperfect Passive: Past participle + می‌شُد (mi-šod). Describes an action that used to be done or was being done in the past habitually.
30
آن سَند هَر روز نِوِشتِه می‌شُد (ān sanad har ruz nevešte mi-šod, 'That document used to be written every day').
31
Past Perfect Passive (Present Perfect Passive): Past participle + شُدِه اَست (šode ast). Indicates an action completed in the past with a continuing relevance to the present.
32
غَذا پُختِه شُدِه اَست (ğazā poxte šode ast, 'The food has been cooked').
33
دَرهَا باز شُدِه اَند (dar-hā bāz šode and, 'The doors have been opened').
34
Past Perfect Passive (Past Perfect Passive): Past participle + شُدِه بود (šode bud). Indicates an action that had been completed before another past action.
35
نامِه قَبل اَز پَرواز نِوِشتِه شُدِه بود (nāme qabl az parvāz nevešte šode bud, 'The letter had been written before the flight').
36
Future Passive: Past participle + خُواهَد شُد (xāhad šod). Expresses an action that will be completed in the future.
37
گُزارِش فَردا تَکمیل خُواهَد شُد (gozāreš fardā takmil xāhad šod, 'The report will be completed tomorrow').
38
Subjunctive Passive: Past participle + شَوَد (šavad). Used in clauses requiring the subjunctive mood (e.g., after verbs of wishing, necessity, possibility).
39
بایَد این کِتاب خُواندِه شَوَد (bāyad in ketāb xānde šavad, 'This book must be read').
40
اُمیدوارَم پِروژِه قَبل اَز مُهلَت تَحویل دادِه شَوَد (omidvāram prože qabl az mohlat tahvil dāde šavad, 'I hope the project is delivered before the deadline').
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Summary Table of Passive Formation:
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| Tense/Mood | Formation | Example (نِوِشتَن – to write) | Meaning |
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| :------------------- | :-------------------------------------- | :--------------------------- | :----------------------- |
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| Present Simple | Past Participle + Present Simple of شُدَن | نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَد (nevešte mi-šavad) | It is written (habitually) |
45
| Present Progressive | دارَد + Past Participle + می‌شَوَد | دارَد نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَد (dārad nevešte mi-šavad) | It is being written |
46
| Past Simple | Past Participle + Past Simple of شُدَن | نِوِشتِه شُد (nevešte šod) | It was written |
47
| Past Imperfect | Past Participle + Past Imperfect of شُدَن | نِوِشتِه می‌شُد (nevešte mi-šod) | It used to be written/was being written |
48
| Past Perfect | Past Participle + شُدِه اَست (šode ast) | نِوِشتِه شُدِه اَست (nevešte šode ast) | It has been written |
49
| Past Perfect (Pluperfect) | Past Participle + شُدِه بود (šode bud) | نِوِشتِه شُدِه بود (nevešte šode bud) | It had been written |
50
| Future | Past Participle + Future of شُدَن | نِوِشتِه خُواهَد شُد (nevešte xāhad šod) | It will be written |
51
| Subjunctive | Past Participle + Subjunctive of شُدَن | نِوِشتِه شَوَد (nevešte šavad) | That it be written |
52
Passive for Compound Verbs (specifically those with کَردَن):
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When a compound verb is formed with کَردَن (kardan), forming the passive is exceptionally straightforward: simply replace کَردَن with شُدَن and conjugate شُدَن as appropriate. The nominal or adjectival part of the compound verb remains unchanged.
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Active: باز کَردَن (bāz kardan, 'to open') → Passive: باز شُدَن (bāz šodan, 'to be opened')
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Active example: مَن دَر را باز کَردَم. (man dar-rā bāz kardam., 'I opened the door.')
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Passive example: دَر باز شُد. (dar bāz šod., 'The door was opened.')
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Active: تَصمیم گِرِفتَن (tasmim gereftan, 'to decide', lit. 'to take a decision') → Passive: تَصمیم گِرِفتِه شُدَن (tasmim gerefte šodan, 'to be decided'). Note: some compound verbs don't use کَردَن and form their passive by applying the participle rule to their main verb component, like گِرِفتَن here.
58
Active example: او تَصمیم گِرِفت. (u tasmim gereft., 'He made a decision.')
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Passive example: تَصمیم گِرِفتِه شُد. (tasmim gerefte šod., 'The decision was made.')
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This simplified formation for کَردَن compound verbs is a significant convenience in Persian grammar and is widely used.

When To Use It

The Persian passive voice is not merely a grammatical alternative; it serves specific communicative functions, enabling speakers to convey information more effectively and appropriately in various contexts. Understanding these contexts is crucial for its correct and idiomatic usage.
  • When the Agent is Unknown or Irrelevant: This is perhaps the most common reason to use the passive. If you do not know who performed an action, or if identifying them is unimportant, the passive voice allows you to focus on the action or its recipient.
  • خانِه دُزدیدِه شُد. (xāne dozdide šod., 'The house was robbed.') – The identity of the robber is unknown or not the main point.
  • نامِه فِرِستادِه شُد. (nāme ferestāde šod., 'The letter was sent.') – The sender is irrelevant; the focus is on the letter's dispatch.
  • For Formality and Objectivity (News, Academic Writing, Reports): The passive voice lends an air of objectivity and detachment, making it ideal for formal discourse. News reports frequently employ it to present facts without attributing them to specific individuals or to generalize actions.
  • قانون جَدید تَصویب شُد. (qānun-e jadid tasvib šod., 'A new law was approved.') – Implies the government or parliament approved it, but the focus is on the law itself.
  • پِروژِه بِه مُوَفَّقِیَت اِتْمام رَسید. (prože be movaffaqiyat etmām rasid., 'The project was successfully completed.') – A more formal way to state completion, common in reports.
  • To Avoid Blame or Be Diplomatic: If an undesirable action has occurred and you wish to avoid directly assigning responsibility, the passive voice can be a convenient linguistic tool. It presents the event as having 'just happened'.
  • گُزارِش دِرَنگ شُد. (gozāreš derang šod., 'The report was delayed.') – Instead of مَن گُزارِش را دِرَنگ کَردَم ('I delayed the report'). This is particularly useful in professional settings or when discussing mistakes.
  • شیشِه شِکَستِه شُد. (šiše šekaste šod., 'The glass was broken.') – A classic way to suggest an accident without pointing fingers.
  • When the Action Itself is More Important Than the Agent: Sometimes, the process or the result of an action is of greater significance than who initiated it. The passive voice highlights this.
  • کِتاب هَنوز نِوِشتِه می‌شَوَد. (ketāb hanuz nevešte mi-šavad., 'The book is still being written.') – Emphasizes the ongoing process of writing, not the author.
  • ساختِمان سالِ گُذَشتِه سٰاختِه شُد. (sāxtemān sāl-e gozašte sāxte šod., 'The building was built last year.') – The completion of the building is the main piece of information.
  • In Public Notices and Instructions: Signs, warnings, and public announcements often use the passive to state rules or conditions impersonally.
  • وُرود مَمنوع اَست. (vorud mamnu' ast., 'Entry is forbidden/prohibited.') – Here, مَمنوع کَردَن ('to forbid') becomes مَمنوع شُدَن ('to be forbidden'), often abbreviated.
  • لُطْفاً اَز آشغال ریختَن خُودداری شَوَد. (lotfan az āšğāl rix̌tan xod-dāri šavad., 'Please refrain from littering' - lit. 'refraining from littering should be done'). This construction uses the subjunctive passive to convey an imperative.
While the passive voice is generally less frequent in colloquial Persian compared to active constructions or the use of an impersonal 'they' (e.g., می‌گویند – 'they say'), its proper deployment significantly enhances your ability to communicate with precision and appropriateness across various registers. It reflects a deeper understanding of Persian sentence structure and communicative intent.

Common Mistakes

Even at the B1 level, learners frequently encounter specific pitfalls when attempting to use the Persian passive. Recognizing these common errors and understanding their underlying causes will help you refine your usage.
  • Forgetting the -ه (-e) on the Past Participle: This is perhaps the most fundamental error. The suffix -ه is mandatory for forming the past participle that precedes شُدَن. Omitting it results in grammatically incorrect and often unintelligible sentences. For example, نِوِشت شُد (nevešt šod) is incorrect; it must be نِوِشتِه شُد (nevešte šod). The ـه (-e) vowel ensures the word functions as a participle rather than a past stem used as a finite verb. Always remember: past stem + -ه for the participle.
  • Using Passive with Intransitive Verbs: The passive voice is fundamentally a transformation of a transitive verb (a verb that takes a direct object). Intransitive verbs, by definition, do not take a direct object, and thus cannot be made passive. You cannot say

Conjugation of 'Shodan' (Past Tense)

Person Singular Plural
1st
شدم
شدیم
2nd
شدی
شدید
3rd
شد
شدند

Meanings

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the object receiving the action, rather than the agent performing it.

1

Standard Passive

Focusing on the result of an action.

“غذا خورده شد”

“نامه فرستاده شد”

Reference Table

Reference table for The Persian Passive: How things 'get done' (شدن)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Participle + Shodan
نوشته شد
Negative
Participle + Nashodan
نوشته نشد
Question
Participle + Shodan?
نوشته شد؟
Present Perfect
Participle + Shodeh Ast
نوشته شده است

Formality Spectrum

Formal
گزارش ارسال گردید.

گزارش ارسال گردید. (Work email)

Neutral
گزارش فرستاده شد.

گزارش فرستاده شد. (Work email)

Informal
گزارش رو فرستادن.

گزارش رو فرستادن. (Work email)

Slang
گزارش رو فرستادن دیگه.

گزارش رو فرستادن دیگه. (Work email)

Passive Voice Components

Passive Voice

Auxiliary

  • شدن to become

Main Verb

  • اسم مفعول Past Participle
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Examples by Level

1

در باز شد

The door was opened

2

غذا خورده شد

The food was eaten

3

نامه نوشته شد

The letter was written

4

کار تمام شد

The work was finished

1

ماشین تعمیر شد

The car was repaired

2

خانه تمیز شد

The house was cleaned

3

فیلم دیده شد

The movie was watched

4

پول پرداخت نشد

The money was not paid

1

قانون تصویب شد

The law was passed

2

جلسه لغو شد

The meeting was cancelled

3

پروژه تکمیل شد

The project was completed

4

این کتاب ترجمه شده است

This book has been translated

1

تصمیمات مهمی گرفته شد

Important decisions were made

2

گزارش به دقت بررسی شد

The report was carefully reviewed

3

بسیاری از مشکلات حل شد

Many problems were solved

4

این موضوع بارها بحث شده است

This topic has been discussed many times

1

تحقیقات گسترده‌ای انجام شد

Extensive research was conducted

2

حقوق شهروندان رعایت شد

Citizens' rights were respected

3

ساختار جدیدی پیشنهاد شد

A new structure was proposed

4

تغییرات بنیادی اعمال شده است

Fundamental changes have been applied

1

سیاست‌های نوین تدوین گردید

New policies were formulated

2

این نظریه به چالش کشیده شد

This theory was challenged

3

تمامی جوانب در نظر گرفته شد

All aspects were taken into account

4

این اثر به زبان‌های متعددی ترجمه شده است

This work has been translated into many languages

Easily Confused

The Persian Passive: How things 'get done' (شدن) vs Active vs Passive

Learners often use active when passive is better.

Common Mistakes

✗

کتاب بود نوشته

✓

کتاب نوشته شد

Wrong auxiliary verb.
✗

او نوشته شد

✓

نامه نوشته شد

Passive cannot have a human agent as the subject.
✗

غذا خورد شد

✓

غذا خورده شد

Must use the past participle.
✗

این کار توسط من انجام شد

✓

این کار انجام شد

Passive is often used to avoid the agent.

Sentence Patterns

___ نوشته شد.

Real World Usage

News report constant

زلزله ثبت شد.

Work email very common

ایمیل دریافت شد.

Social media common

عکس آپلود شد.

Cooking instructions common

پیاز خرد شد.

Travel occasional

بلیط رزرو شد.

Job interview common

پروژه مدیریت شد.

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💡

Focus on the object

When using passive, ensure the object is the subject of the sentence.

Smart Tips

Use the passive to sound objective.

من گزارش را نوشتم. → گزارش نوشته شد.

Pronunciation

sho-dan

Shodan

The 'sh' is like 'shoe'.

Statement

کتاب نوشته شد ↓

Neutral tone.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of 'Shodan' as a 'Shift' in focus.

Visual Association

Imagine a spotlight moving from a person to an object.

Rhyme

To make it passive, don't be slow, add 'shodan' and let it flow.

Story

Ali broke the vase. The vase was broken. The vase became broken. The vase 'shod' broken.

Word Web

شدناسم مفعولمجهولفاعلمفعولتغییر

Challenge

Write 5 sentences about things that happened in your house today using the passive voice.

Cultural Notes

Passive is preferred in formal settings to sound polite and objective.

Derived from the Old Persian root for 'to become'.

Conversation Starters

“

آیا کار تمام شد؟

Journal Prompts

Describe a project you finished.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with the correct form of 'shodan'.

نامه نوشته ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: شد
The subject is 'nameh' (singular).

Score: /1

Practice Exercises

1 exercises
Fill in the blank with the correct form of 'shodan'.

نامه نوشته ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: شد
The subject is 'nameh' (singular).

Score: /1

Practice Bank

10 exercises
Translate to Persian using the passive voice Translation

The book was found.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: کتاب پیدا شد.
Reorder the words to form a passive sentence Sentence Reorder

شد / لغو / کنسرت

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: کنسرت لغو شد
Match the active verb to its passive equivalent Match Pairs

Match the pairs:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Match successfully
Complete the future passive sentence. Fill in the Blank

دیوار فردا رنگ ___ .

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: خواهد شد
Correct the mistake Error Correction

فیلم دیده شد توسط من.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: فیلم توسط من دیده شد.
Which one is a compound verb passive? Multiple Choice

Select the correct form:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: تمیز شد
Fill in the blank for 'The door is closed.' Fill in the Blank

در ___ .

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: بسته شد
Translate to Persian Translation

The car was washed.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ماشین شسته شد.
Put in order: 'The apple was eaten.' Sentence Reorder

شد / سیب / خورده

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: سیب خورده شد
Which verb cannot be made passive? Multiple Choice

Select the intransitive verb:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: رفتن (to go)

Score: /10

FAQ (1)

Yes, but it's less common. Use 'mishavad'.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish high

ser + participio

Spanish has more complex agreement rules.

French high

être + participe passé

French requires gender/number agreement.

German high

werden + Partizip II

German word order is more rigid.

Japanese low

reru/rareru

Persian uses a separate auxiliary verb.

Arabic low

Internal vowel change

Persian uses a periphrastic construction.

Chinese low

bei

Persian uses an auxiliary verb.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Becoming & Getting: The Persian Verb 'shodan' (شدن)

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استراتژیهای آموزش زبان آلمانی به فارسی و تکنیک های یادگیری سریع زبان 11:50

استراتژیهای آموزش زبان آلمانی به فارسی و تکنیک های یادگیری سریع زبان

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A2

Formal Future Tense: I will go (khāham raft)

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