Passive

"Passive" in Russian

безде́ятельный

bezdéjatelʹnyj

(taking no action)

пасси́вный

passívnyj

(not active, but acted upon)

пасси́вный

passívnyj

(taking no action)

пасси́вный

passívnyj

(grammar: being in the passive voice)

пасси́вный

passívnyj

(psychology: being inactive and receptive in a relationship)

страда́тельный

stradátelʹnyj

(grammar: being in the passive voice)

Active vs Passive Voice: When Each Works

Write clearer sentences by choosing active voice by default and passive voice intentionally.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.