The Complete Guide to German Passive — Part 5

The Recipient Passive (bekommen-Passive)

“Not all passives are about the action. Sometimes they’re about who ends up with the result.” — Tymur Levitin

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The paradox before we start: is this even a passive?

Linguists still argue whether the bekommen-Passive is “true” passive or a separate construction.

• On the one hand, the subject receives the object → that looks passive.
• On the other hand, the verb form behaves differently from the werden-Passive.

👉 For exam practice, it is treated as a passive variant. For advanced analysis, it is often called a “recipient construction.”

What is the bekommen-Passive?

It’s a passive form that shifts the focus: the subject is not the agent (doer), but the recipient (receiver) of the action.

• Active: Der Mechaniker repariert dem Kunden das Auto.
  → “The mechanic repairs the car for the customer.”
• Recipient passive: Der Kunde bekommt das Auto repariert.
  → “The customer gets the car repaired.”

Core structure

Subject (recipient) + bekommt / bekam / hat bekommen … + object in participle form

Examples:

• Präsens: Er bekommt das Auto repariert. → “He gets the car repaired.”
• Präteritum: Er bekam das Auto repariert. → “He got the car repaired.”
• Perfekt: Er hat das Auto repariert bekommen. → “He has got the car repaired.”

Tense overview

Comparison: werden-Passive vs bekommen-Passive

• Das Auto wird repariert.
  → The car is being repaired. (Action-passive: focus on the process.)
• Der Kunde bekommt das Auto repariert.
  → The customer gets the car repaired. (Recipient-passive: focus on the person who benefits or suffers.)

Common traps

1. Not all verbs allow it.
   Only verbs with a direct and indirect object (so that there is a “recipient”).
   • Works: Der Student bekommt den Text übersetzt.
   • Unnatural: Der Student bekommt geschlafen. (nonsense — no indirect object).
2. Not always interchangeable with werden-Passive.
   • Der Brief wird geschrieben. (action focus) ≠ Der Empfänger bekommt den Brief geschrieben. (awkward).
     The bekommen-Passive is best with service-like or transfer-like actions.
3. Sounds colloquial in some regions.
   In spoken German it is common. In academic writing, limit use.

Variants: kriegen-Passive and erhalten-Passive

• Der Kunde kriegt das Auto repariert. (colloquial, common in North Germany)
• Der Kunde erhält das Auto repariert. (formal/literary, less frequent)

All three (bekommen, kriegen, erhalten) follow the same grammatical logic.

Exam survival

• When to use: when you need to emphasize the recipient, not the action.
• Safe tenses: Präsens, Präteritum, Perfekt are most common.
• Formal writing: prefer werden-Passive. Mention bekommen-Passive as an alternative.
• Colloquial speech: kriegen-Passive is very common, but don’t use it in exams.

Series navigation

• Part 1: Myth of Three Passive Forms
• Part 2: Passive Tenses Without Modals
• Part 3: Passive with Modal Verbs
• Part 4: All Tenses in Full
• Part 5: Recipient Passive (this page)
• Part 6: Impersonal Passive
• Part 7: Passive in Konjunktiv
• Part 8: Academic Passive
• Part 9: The Translation Lab
• Part 10: Survival Strategies

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Tymur Levitin — Founder, Head Teacher & Translator

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