The doer is hidden: the vowels change, the consonants hold
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added. For example: “الوثيقة كُتِبت أمس” — The document was written yesterday. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added.
Who acted is usually not named — that is the whole point: kutibat ar-risaała — the letter was written, and that is all. If the culprit must still be named, the preposition "min" comes: "kutiba min as-safiir" — it was written by the ambassador.
The language of offices loves this turn: rufida — it was declined, ulghiyat — it was cancelled, wukkiʿa — it was signed. Reading a ruling, tell them apart by ear: "qaala" — he said, "qiila" — it was said. The difference is one vowel, and the culprit vanishes together with it.
Table
| sense | active | passive | reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| wrote / was written | كتب | كُتِب | kutiba |
| writes / is written | يكتب | يُكتَب | yuktabu |
| signed / was signed | وقّع | وُقِّع | wukkiʿa |
| cancelled / was cancelled | ألغى | أُلغي | ulghiyaa |
| refused / was refused | رفض | رُفِض | rufida |
| the doer | named | omitted or min | omitted or min |
By example
- الوثيقة كُتِبت أمسаль-васиика кутибат амсThe document was written yesterday
- الرحلة أُلغيت بسبب الثلجар-рихля ульгийят би-сабаб ас-сальджThe flight was cancelled because of the snow
- يُفتَح المطار في الخامسةйуфтаху аль-матаар фи аль-хаамисаThe airport opens at five
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The passive in Arabic?
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added.
How to form the arabic passive?
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added.
The internal passive in Arabic?
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added.
How to say it was written in Arabic?
Other languages build the passive with a helper and a participle. Here it is done with vowels: the same three consonants, but the inner "a"s turn into "u" and "i". kataba — he wrote → kutiba — it was written. yaktubu — he writes → yuktabu — it is being written. No new words are added.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“الوثيقة كُتِبت أمس” (аль-васиика кутибат амс) — The document was written yesterday. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.