A grammatical voice in which the subject receives the action (e.g. "be done by ~"); contrasts with the active voice. Often called "passive" or "uke-mi" in Japanese.
この本は先生に読まれた。
This book was read by the teacher.
日本語の受動態は「〜に〜される」の形で表されることが多い。
The Japanese passive is often expressed in the form "~ ni ~ sareru".
子供に宿題を隠されて困った（迷惑の受動態の例）。
I was troubled because a child hid my homework (an example of the adversative passive).