Passive Alternatives: sein...zu, sich lassen
Passive के विकल्प: sein...zu, sich lassen
German has two extremely common shortcuts for saying something 'can be' or 'must be' done, without ever building a werden-passive — in actual usage, even more popular than können/müssen + passive.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
sein + zu + infinitive: necessity or possibility, depending on context
Die Aufgabe ist zu erledigen. / Der Fehler ist leicht zu erkennen.
काम पूरा किया जाना है। / गलती आसानी से पहचानी जा सकती है।
sein conjugates normally in second position, and zu + infinitive goes to the end, in the same word order as a modal passive — but there's no modal verb here and no werden anywhere. Whether the meaning leans toward 'must' or 'can' depends on context and any accompanying adverb: leicht zu ('easily', hinting at possibility) leans toward a können-like meaning, while sofort zu ('immediately', hinting at necessity) leans toward müssen. This construction is extremely common in instructions, official notices, and written German generally.
sich lassen + infinitive: 'can be done', an active-looking alternative to können + passive
Das Problem lässt sich lösen. (The problem can be solved.)
समस्या सुलझाई जा सकती है।
This construction is grammatically active and reflexive — the subject (das Problem) is technically the thing lassen is 'letting' happen, not an active agent — but its meaning is exactly the same as Das Problem kann gelöst werden. There's no direct equivalent structure in Hindi or English, so learn to recognize sich lassen + infinitive as meaning 'can be done' on sight, rather than trying to translate it word by word.
The -bar suffix: a close adjective alternative, like Hindi's '-योग्य'
lösbar, essbar, sichtbar (solvable, edible, visible)
सुलझाने योग्य, खाने योग्य, दिखाई देने वाला
Adding -bar directly to a verb stem builds an adjective meaning 'able to be [verb]ed' — lösen → lösbar, essen → essbar, sehen → sichtbar. Hindi's '-योग्य' suffix (सुलझाने योग्य, खाने योग्य) works in exactly this spirit, making this the easiest and most memorable of the three alternatives.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ist zu erledigen | ist tsoo air-LAY-di-gen | पूरा किया जाना हैpūrā kiyā jānā hai | is to be done |
| ist zu erkennen | ist tsoo air-KEN-en | पहचाना जा सकता हैpahcānā jā saktā hai | can be recognized |
| lässt sich lösen | lest zikh LUR-zen | सुलझाया जा सकता हैsuljhāyā jā saktā hai | can be solved |
| lässt sich machen | lest zikh MAH-khen | किया जा सकता हैkiyā jā saktā hai | can be done |
| lässt sich reparieren | lest zikh reh-pah-REE-ren | ठीक किया जा सकता हैṭhīk kiyā jā saktā hai | can be repaired |
| lösbar | LUR-zbar | सुलझाने योग्यsuljhāne yogya | solvable |
| essbar | ES-bar | खाने योग्यkhāne yogya | edible |
| sichtbar | ZIKHT-bar | दिखाई देने वालाdikhāī dene vālā | visible |
| machbar | MAHKH-bar | करने योग्य / संभवkarne yogya / sambhav | feasible/doable |
| erreichbar | air-RYKH-bar | पहुँच योग्यpahuñc yogya | reachable/attainable |