Do you know, how many grammatical voices are present in Hindi? I find it quite important to differentiate between different voices. It not only tells us to use which voices where but also let us understand the structure of a sentences in detail.

The form of the verb which tell us about the main subject, action or mood is called the वाच्य (Vachy – Voice(gramm.)).

In Hindi, there are three grammatical voices which are कृत्य वाच्य (Active Voice), कर्म वाच्य (Passive Voice) and भाव वाच्य (Impersonal Voice). Lets study each of them in a little bit more in detail with some examples. For your practice, I have provided Hindi sentences with the romanized Hindi as well as English translations.

1. कृत्य वाच्य (Krity Vachay  – Active Voice)
When the subject of the verb is the main subject of the sentence, then it is called कृत्य वाच्य (Active Voice)

Examples:

a. हिरन दौड़ता है। (Hiran daudta hai – Deer runs.)
b. आदमी चल रहा है। (Aadmi chalta hai – Man walks.)

2. कर्म वाच्य (Karam Vachay – Passive Voice)
When the the verb shows an action (कर्म) on the main subject of the sentence, then it is called कर्म वाच्य (Active Voice)

Examples:

a. तुम से खाना खाया नहीं जाता। (Tum se khana khaya nahi jata. – The food is not eaten by you.)
b. लेखको से पत्रिका लिखी गयी हैं। (Lekhako se patrika likhi gayi hai. – The magazine is written by the writer.)

3. भाव वाच्य (Bhav Vachay – Impersonal voice)
When the verb shows the emphasis on mood (भाव) instead of subject or the action on the subject of the sentence, then it is called भाव वाचक (Impersonal Voice). Here, the subject of the sentence always has “से”(se) suffix which is equivalent of “from”.

Examples:

a. मुझसे लिखा जाता है। (Mujhse likha jata hai. – Writing is done by me.)
b. आदमी से चला जाता है। (Aadmi se chala jata hai. – Walking is done by man.)