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Nif'al

Passive / middle of Pa'al

Nif'al is the passive/middle of Pa'al

Often 'to be Xed' or an intransitive change.

💬 Examples
כתב / נכתב
katav / nikhtav
wrote / was written
📝 Nif'al = passive of Pa'al
שבר / נשבר
shavar / nishbar
broke / got broken
📝 Nif'al = inchoative/passive
Nif'al is marked by an initial נ

The נ prefix marks past and present.

📊 Nif'al of נכנס (to enter)
Tense Hebrew Translit
past נכנס nichnas
present נכנס nichnas
future ייכנס yikanes
infinitive להיכנס lehikanes
💬 Examples
נכנס
nichnas
he entered
📝 Nif'al verb
נשאר
nish'ar
he stayed / remained
📝 Nif'al
Some Nif'al verbs are simply intransitive

Not all are truly passive.

💬 Examples
נפגשנו
nifgashnu
we met
📝 Nif'al (reciprocal sense)
הדלת נסגרה
ha-delet nisgera
the door closed
📝 Nif'al, passive sense