닫다 or 닫히다? Describe Who Closes the Door and What Happens to It

Use 문을 닫아요 when you describe someone closing the door. Use 문이 닫혀요 when the door is the subject and you describe it closing. The choice changes both the verb and the particle beside 문.

For an everyday request, 문을 닫아 주세요 asks someone to close it. When reporting a problem, 문이 잘 안 닫혀요 says that it does not close properly. These examples are practice sentences created for this guide.

In this guide

1. 1. Put the person and the door in different roles
2. 2. Read the forms you will actually say
3. 3. Two short situations to practice
4. 4. A quick review and one caution

1. Put the person and the door in different roles

The Basic Korean Dictionary gives 닫다 the pattern “1이 2를 닫다” and 닫히다 the pattern “1이 닫히다.” For the physical-door meanings, the first can include a person acting on a door; the second puts the door itself at the center of the statement.

Focus	Korean practice	Meaning
Person doing the action	제가 문을 닫아요.	I close the door.
Door as subject	문이 닫혀요.	The door closes.
Polite request	문을 닫아 주세요.	Please close the door.
Difficulty	문이 잘 안 닫혀요.	The door does not close properly.

In casual conversation, a subject can be omitted when the situation makes it clear. The verb and the remaining particle still help the listener identify the structure. Do not attach 을 to 문 automatically just because an English translation contains “door.”

2. Read the forms you will actually say

The dictionary lists 닫다 as [닫따], 닫아 as [다다], and 닫으니 as [다드니]. For 닫히다 it gives [다치다], and the contracted form 닫혀 is [다처]. The bracketed forms are pronunciation guides, not replacement spellings.

Write 닫아 주세요 and 닫혀요 with their normal spelling. Listen to the official audio while looking at each form, then practice the whole phrase rather than reading each written syllable in isolation. You do not need to change the spelling to make the sound fit.

Hear 닫다 and check its sentence pattern

3. Two short situations to practice

At a quiet study room:
A: 밖이 조금 시끄러워요. 문을 닫아 주세요.
B: 네, 제가 닫을게요.

At an accommodation:
A: 방 문이 잘 안 닫혀요.
B: 어느 방인지 알려 주세요.

The first conversation asks for an action. The second reports a condition; it does not identify who caused it. Practice changing 문 to 창문 in the first sentence, then compare 창문을 닫아요 with 창문이 닫혀요. Keep the particle change visible in your notebook.

4. A quick review and one caution

Fill the blanks: “제가 문__ 닫아요.” and “문__ 닫혀요.” The answers are 을 and 이. Now turn the first into a request: “문을 닫아 주세요.”

Does 닫히다 always mean a physical door?

No. The dictionary also records business-related meanings. Context matters: a door being shut does not by itself tell you whether a shop is temporarily closed, closed for the day, or no longer operating.

Is 문이 닫혔어요 a request?

It reports that the door closed or is closed in context. To ask someone to close it, use the request pattern instead.

Check 닫히다, 닫혀 and the official audio

Sources checked on 11 October 2026. National Institute of Korean Language: 닫다 Basic Korean Dictionary: 닫히다

The cover illustration was created with AI to explain the topic.