Farsi Passive Voice: When Things Get Done to Themselves

The Voice That Persian Barely Uses

Ask an Iranian "was the window broken?" and they probably won't use passive at all. They'll say "panjare shekast" (the window broke) or "panjare shekaste shod" (the window became broken). The farsi passive voice technically exists. past participle + shodan (to become). but spoken Persian avoids it like a bad restaurant. It shows up in news broadcasts, bureaucratic documents, and formal writing. In conversation, Iranians prefer active voice, reflexive constructions, or just letting the object do the action to itself.

This post is part of the Persian Grammar series.

You still need to understand passive because you'll encounter it when reading anything formal. news, academic texts, government forms, legal documents. And if you're taking a Farsi exam, they'll test you on it. But knowing when not to use it in conversation is equally important.

How the Passive Is Built

Take any verb's past participle (past stem + -e) and add a conjugated form of shodan (شدن. to become):

neveshtan (نوشتن. to write) → past participle: neveshte (نوشته)
neveshte shod (نوشته شد). was written (simple past passive)
neveshte mishavad (نوشته می‌شود). is written (present passive, formal)
neveshte shode ast (نوشته شده است). has been written (present perfect passive)

More examples:

sâkhte shod (ساخته شد). was built
gofte shod (گفته شد). was said
koshte shod (کشته شد). was killed
dide shod (دیده شد). was seen
baste shode ast (بسته شده است). has been closed
ferestad shod (فرستاده شد). was sent

Passive Tenses

Shodan conjugates through tenses just like any other verb, giving you passive in every tense:

Present: neveshte mishavad (نوشته می‌شود). is written / gets written
Past: neveshte shod (نوشته شد). was written
Present perfect: neveshte shode ast (نوشته شده است). has been written
Past perfect: neveshte shode bud (نوشته شده بود). had been written
Future: neveshte khâhad shod (نوشته خواهد شد). will be written

In spoken Farsi, when passive is used at all, it simplifies:

neveshte mishe (نوشته میشه). gets written
neveshte shod (نوشته شد). was written (this one stays the same)
neveshte shode (نوشته شده). has been written (drops "ast")

Where Passive Actually Shows Up

You'll encounter passive in these specific registers:

News: "Se nafar koshte shodand" (سه نفر کشته شدند. Three people were killed)
Academic: "In masale baresi shode ast" (این مسئله بررسی شده است. This issue has been examined)
Legal: "Hokm sâder shod" (حکم صادر شد. The verdict was issued)
Signs: "Sigar keshidan mamnu' ast" (سیگار کشیدن ممنوع است. Smoking is prohibited)

If you're reading BBC Persian, IRNA, or any news site, passive is everywhere. If you're chatting with friends over tea, it's almost nowhere.

Why Spoken Farsi Avoids Passive

Three reasons:

1. Active voice is shorter. "Ali in ro nevesht" (Ali wrote this) is faster than "in tavassot-e Ali neveshte shod" (this was written by Ali). In a language that already compresses everything in speech, adding extra words feels wrong.

2. Reflexive constructions sound more natural. Instead of "the glass was broken," Iranians say:

3. "Khodesh" (itself) does the work. When Iranians want to remove the agent without using passive, they use khodesh (خودش. itself) or just let the object be the subject:

dar bâz shod (در باز شد). the door opened (not "was opened")
ghazâ tamum shod (غذا تموم شد). the food ran out / finished
khodesh dorost mishe (خودش درست میشه). it'll fix itself

That last one. "khodesh dorost mishe". is the Iranian answer to about 80% of problems. Car trouble? Khodesh dorost mishe. Relationship drama? Khodesh dorost mishe. Geopolitical crisis? Khodesh dorost mishe. It's passive avoidance elevated to philosophy.

The "By" Agent: Tavassot-e

When you do use passive and need to name who did the action, use tavassot-e (توسط. by):

in ketâb tavassot-e Hedâyat neveshte shode (این کتاب توسط هدایت نوشته شده). This book was written by Hedayat

In spoken Farsi, you'll almost never hear tavassot-e. People just use active: "Hedâyat in ketâb ro neveshte." But in formal writing, tavassot-e is the standard "by" for passive sentences.

Some formal texts also use az suy-e (از سوی) or az taraf-e (از طرف) for "by," especially in news: "az suy-e dolat e'lâm shod" (was announced by the government).

Passive with Compound Verbs

For compound verbs, the noun part stays and kardan/zadan/etc. gets replaced with shodan:

ta'mir kardan (to repair) → ta'mir shodan (to be repaired)
sâkht (built it) → sâkhte shod (was built)
ehzâr kardan (to summon) → ehzâr shodan (to be summoned)
dorost kardan (to fix) → dorost shodan (to be fixed / to get fixed)

"Dorost shodan" is interesting because it's used constantly in spoken Farsi. "mâshinam dorost shod" (my car got fixed). But Iranians don't think of this as passive. They think of it as the car "becoming fixed." Shodan is "to become" more than "to be done to." This is why the line between passive and intransitive is blurry in Farsi.

For the full grammar roadmap, head to the Persian Grammar Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding passive is part of reading real Persian. news, literature, official documents. If you want to practice switching between formal and spoken registers. book a session with me on Preply and we'll work through news articles together, breaking down the passive constructions you'll encounter in the wild.

Get it wrong and the worst that happens is a warm laugh and a story they’ll tell for years. Get it right — refuse the tea twice, accept on the third — and you’ll watch a face open up. You didn’t just speak Persian. You played the game.