passive
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passive
Inactive, indifferent, or waiting; without becoming active or intervening oneself.
Anstatt seine Meinung zu sagen, verhielt er sich in der Diskussion völlig passiv.
Instead of saying what he thought, he behaved completely passively in the discussion.
You can recognize the meaning of 'passiv' (passive) from the context. If it is about human behavior, it means “inactive.” In texts about language, it refers to grammar. In connection with finances and balance sheets, the business meaning is intended.
Er blieb während des gesamten Streits passiv und sagte nichts.
He remained passive throughout the entire argument and said nothing.
When it is about behavior, 'passiv' (passive) is often used with certain verbs. Typical combinations are 'passiv bleiben' (to remain passive), 'sich passiv verhalten' (to behave passively), or 'eine passive Rolle einnehmen' (to take on a passive role).
Anstatt zu helfen, sahen die Leute nur passiv zu.
Instead of helping, the people just watched passively.
As a grammatical term, 'passiv' (passive) describes sentences in which something happens to the subject. Watch for signal words like 'Satz' (sentence), 'Form' (form), 'Stimme' (voice), or verbs like 'bilden' (to form) or 'verwenden' (to use).
Im Deutschen wird das Passiv mit dem Hilfsverb „werden“ gebildet.
In German, the passive is formed with the auxiliary verb 'werden' (to become).
active
'aktiv' and 'passiv' are opposites. 'aktiv' means that someone acts themselves, participates, or intervenes. 'passiv' means that someone waits, does little, or simply lets something happen. They are also opposites in grammar: in the active voice, the subject performs the action; in the passive voice, the focus is on what happens to the subject. Learners may confuse the words because both occur in everyday language and in grammar. As a practical rule: someone who does something themselves is aktiv; someone who tends not to act is passiv.
Bei der Diskussion blieb Tom passiv und sagte kein Wort.
During the discussion, Tom remained passive and did not say a word.
Im Verein ist Lisa sehr aktiv und organisiert viele Treffen.
Lisa is very active in the club and organizes many meetings.