State-Passive vs. Process-Passive
अवस्था-कर्मवाच्य बनाम प्रक्रिया-कर्मवाच्य
German forces you to choose, every time, between describing an ongoing action (werden + participle) and describing the resulting state after it's done (sein + participle) — a distinction Hindi already captures with its जाना-based passive (हो रहा है/हो चुका है), which English's plain 'is + past participle' blurs into one.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Two passives, two auxiliaries: werden for the action, sein for the resulting state
Die Tür wird geöffnet. (The door is being opened — an action happening right now.) vs. Die Tür ist geöffnet. (The door is open — the resulting state.)
दरवाज़ा खोला जा रहा है। बनाम दरवाज़ा खुला है।
The Vorgangspassiv ('process-passive') is built with werden + past participle and describes an action in progress or a process unfolding. The Zustandspassiv ('state-passive') is built with sein + past participle and describes the state that exists after that action is complete — it's often nearly indistinguishable from a predicate adjective ('Der Laden ist geschlossen' — 'The shop is closed', i.e., not open). Hindi already has this distinction — 'खोला जा रहा है' (process, जाना-based passive) vs. 'खुला है' (state, adjective-like) — so this isn't entirely new, but German makes the choice mandatory every time, even in casual everyday sentences, where Hindi/English speakers might not think twice.
Reading English 'is + past participle': ask 'action or result?' to pick werden or sein
Der Laden wird geschlossen. (someone is closing it right now) vs. Der Laden ist geschlossen. (it's simply not open)
दुकान बंद की जा रही है (किसी के द्वारा, अभी)। बनाम दुकान बंद है (आज के लिए)।
Because English doesn't force this distinction, English speakers translating into German should pause and ask: is this describing an event happening, usually with an implied or stated agent doing it right now, or a static condition with no ongoing action in view? Hindi speakers can ask this same question easily, since Hindi also keeps 'काम हो गया है' (state) and 'काम हो रहा है' (process) as separate sentences — just note that English often flattens both into just 'the task is done', while Hindi and German both preserve the distinction. Getting this wrong doesn't just sound slightly off in German — it usually changes what's actually true about the situation.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die Tür ist geöffnet. / wird geöffnet. | dee tuer ist geh-ERF-net / vird geh-ERF-net | दरवाज़ा खुला है। / खोला जा रहा है।darvāzā khulā hai / kholā jā rahā hai | The door is open. / is being opened. |
| Der Laden ist geschlossen. / wird geschlossen. | dair LAH-den ist geh-SHLOS-en / vird geh-SHLOS-en | दुकान बंद है। / बंद की जा रही है।dukān band hai / band kī jā rahī hai | The shop is closed. / is being closed. |
| Das Auto ist repariert. / wird repariert. | dahs OW-toh ist reh-pah-REERT / vird reh-pah-REERT | गाड़ी ठीक हो चुकी है। / ठीक की जा रही है।gāṛī ṭhīk ho cukī hai / ṭhīk kī jā rahī hai | The car is fixed. / is being fixed. |
| Die Aufgabe ist erledigt. / wird erledigt. | dee OWF-gah-beh ist er-LAY-dikht / vird er-LAY-dikht | काम हो चुका है। / काम हो रहा है।kām ho cukā hai / kām ho rahā hai | The task is done. / is being done. |
| Der Brief ist geschrieben. / wird geschrieben. | dair breef ist geh-SHREE-ben / vird geh-SHREE-ben | चिट्ठी लिखी जा चुकी है। / लिखी जा रही है।ciṭṭhī likhī jā cukī hai / likhī jā rahī hai | The letter is written. / is being written. |
| Das Zimmer ist aufgeräumt. / wird aufgeräumt. | dahs TSIM-er ist OWF-geh-roymt / vird OWF-geh-roymt | कमरा साफ़ हो चुका है। / साफ़ किया जा रहा है।kamrā sāf ho cukā hai / sāf kiyā jā rahā hai | The room is tidied. / is being tidied. |
| Die Rechnung ist bezahlt. / wird bezahlt. | dee REKH-noong ist beh-TSAHLT / vird beh-TSAHLT | बिल चुकाया जा चुका है। / चुकाया जा रहा है।bil cukāyā jā cukā hai / cukāyā jā rahā hai | The bill is paid. / is being paid. |
| Das Fenster ist eingeschlagen. / wird eingeschlagen. | dahs FEN-ster ist EYEN-geh-shlah-gen / vird EYEN-geh-shlah-gen | खिड़की टूटी हुई है। / तोड़ी जा रही है।khiṛkī ṭūṭī huī hai / toṛī jā rahī hai | The window is broken (smashed in). / is being smashed in. |