The Nif’al form in Hebrew is used to indicate the passive voice. Here are a few examples:
• נפתח (niftach) – was opened
• נכתב (nikhtav) – was written
• נאמר (ne’emar) – was said
• נבנה (nivneh) – was built
• נשבר (nishbar) – was broken
These verbs all reflect actions that have been received by the subject, rather than actions that the subject has performed. The Nif’al form is quite common in Hebrew and is one of the seven standard verb patterns (binyanim).
