bekommen/kriegen + Past Participle

Recipient Passive (Bekommen/kriegen)

Level 5

The bekommen-passive (Recipient Passive) shifts the focus to the person receiving something. While the standard werden-passive promotes the direct object (accusative), this pattern promotes the indirect object (dative) to the subject position.

How It Works

The bekommen-passive (also known as Rezipientenpassiv or Adressatenpassiv) is a productive alternative to the standard passive, especially when the speaker wants to emphasize the person affected by an action.

1. Usage with Ditransitive Verbs
It is most commonly used with verbs that take both a dative and an accusative object, such as schenken (to gift), leihen (to lend), or schicken (to send). The accusative object from the active sentence remains in the accusative case.

2. Usage with Dative-Only Verbs
The bekommen-passive can 'upgrade' a dative object to a nominative subject for certain verbs that only take a dative object. However, this is restricted to verbs where the subject is a recipient of a benefit or harm (e.g., Er bekommt geholfen - He is being helped). It is not universally productive; verbs like begegnen (to meet) or glauben (to believe) cannot form this passive (e.g., *Er bekommt geglaubt is ungrammatical).

3. Register and Semantic Differences
The choice of auxiliary verb depends on the situation and the meaning:

  • bekommen: The standard, neutral choice.
  • kriegen: Extremely common in spoken, colloquial German.
  • erhalten: Reserved for formal writing. Note that erhalten is restricted to positive or neutral transfers; it cannot be used with verbs involving taking something away (e.g., one cannot say *Er erhielt den Führerschein entzogen).

4. Constraints
Keep these core restrictions in mind:

  • Animacy: The subject of a bekommen-passive is almost always animate (usually a person). Inanimate objects rarely function as the subject here.
  • Redundancy: Do not use the participle gegeben. Instead of Ich bekomme es gegeben, simply say Ich bekomme es.
  • Reflexivity: It cannot be used with reflexive pronouns. To say 'I'm getting my hair cut,' use lassen (Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden).

5. Structural Comparison
In a werden-passive, the dative object stays in the dative: Mir wurde das Buch geschenkt.
In a bekommen-passive, the dative object becomes the nominative subject: Ich bekam das Buch geschenkt.

Examples (5)

  1. Ich bekomme das Buch von meinem Bruder geschenkt.

    I am being given the book as a gift by my brother.

    Word by Word: I get the book from my brother gifted.

    Standard usage with 'bekommen'. The recipient 'mir' has become the subject 'Ich'.

  2. Er kriegt morgen die Haare geschnitten.

    He is getting his hair cut tomorrow.

    Word by Word: He gets tomorrow the hairs cut.

    Colloquial usage with 'kriegen'. This demonstrates the 'Pertinenzdativ' (dative of belonging) where the hair belongs to him.

  3. Der Forscher erhielt den Preis feierlich überreicht.

    The researcher was ceremoniously presented with the prize.

    Word by Word: The researcher received the prize ceremoniously presented.

    Formal usage with 'erhalten', typical for news reports or official ceremonies.

  4. Wir bekamen die Regeln genau erklärt.

    We had the rules explained to us exactly.

    Word by Word: We got the rules exactly explained.

    The verb 'erklären' takes a dative recipient (to whom) and an accusative object (what). Here, the recipients 'wir' are the subject.

  5. Du kriegst den Teller weggenommen, wenn du nicht isst.

    You'll have your plate taken away if you don't eat.

    Word by Word: You get the plate taken away, if you not eat.

    An example of the 'malefactive' use, where the subject is negatively affected by the action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the participle 'gegeben' with the bekommen-passive.

    Ich bekam das Buch gegeben.
    Ich bekam das Buch.

    Using 'bekommen' with 'gegeben' is redundant because 'bekommen' already expresses the act of receiving. Simply use the verb 'bekommen' on its own or use the werden-passive.

  • Attempting to use the bekommen-passive with reflexive dative objects.

    Ich bekomme mir die Haare geschnitten.
    Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden.

    The bekommen-passive cannot be used for reflexive actions. For services you have done for yourself, use lassen instead.

  • Changing the accusative object to nominative.

    Ich bekomme der Brief geschickt.
    Ich bekomme den Brief geschickt.

    In the bekommen-passive, only the dative object moves to the subject (nominative). The accusative object ('den Brief') must remain in the accusative case.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bekommen/kriegen + Past ParticipleLevel 5Recipient Passive (Bekommen/kriegen)

Learn This First

To understand the recipient passive (bekommen-passive), you first need to be familiar with the standard passive voice (werden-passive) to understand how subjects and objects shift. You also need to know how to form past participles, as they are the core of the construction, and understand the dative case, since this passive form is primarily used to turn a dative recipient into the subject of the sentence.

Words in This Pattern

bekommenkriegen