A zombie villager can be cured by applying Weakness, feeding it a regular golden apple, and keeping it alive while the conversion finishes. The process takes 180 to 300 seconds, or three to five minutes. During that time the mob still behaves like a zombie, so build the enclosure before starting the cure.
Prepare the cure
- A splash potion of Weakness or another reliable way to apply the effect
- One regular golden apple
- A solid, roofed enclosure
- Enough space to interact without letting the mob reach you
To brew the common potion route, add a fermented spider eye to a water bottle. Nether Wart is not required for this recipe. Add gunpowder to turn the potion into a splash version. A fermented spider eye is crafted from a spider eye, a brown mushroom, and sugar.
Craft the golden apple with one apple surrounded by eight gold ingots. An enchanted golden apple does not trigger the cure, so check the item name before using it.
Complete the steps in order
- Move the zombie villager into the roofed enclosure and block every exit.
- Apply Weakness. A splash potion is the easiest controlled method.
- While Weakness is active, use the regular golden apple on the zombie villager.
- Keep the area loaded and protected for three to five minutes.
- Wait for the conversion to finish before opening the enclosure.
The cured villager receives Nausea for 10 seconds, though the effect does not alter its behavior. The player who performed the cure receives a permanent trade discount from that villager. Curing the same villager again does not stack an additional discount.
Keep the villager and yourself safe
A curing zombie villager gains Strength and remains hostile. Do not stand inside the enclosure after feeding the apple. Keep sunlight out with a solid roof, and stop other hostile mobs from entering. Switching the world to Peaceful causes a zombie villager in mid-cure to disappear.
Beds and iron bars can reduce the timer, but the effect is small. Each eligible block has only a chance to shave a tick when the game performs its check, with a cap on the number considered. They are not required, and building a secure room is more useful than chasing a minor speed increase.
Understand conversion chances
An igloo basement provides a guaranteed caged zombie villager beside a cleric villager. You can also obtain one when a zombie-related mob kills a villager, but survival depends on difficulty. The conversion chance is zero percent on Easy, 50 percent on Normal, and 100 percent on Hard.
That table describes whether the killed villager becomes a zombie villager. It does not change the three-to-five-minute cure once the zombie villager already exists. On Easy, do not deliberately expose a valued villager because it will die instead of converting.
Fix common failures
If the golden apple cannot be used, confirm that Weakness is active and that the apple is the regular crafted version. If the mob burns, improve the roof and block direct sunlight. If it vanishes, check whether the difficulty was changed to Peaceful.
After the cure, give the villager a bed and the job-site block needed for the profession you want. Protect the route from the curing room before opening it. The discount is useful only if the villager survives long enough to trade.
Other ways to apply Weakness
A splash potion is convenient, but it is not the only supported trigger. Lingering potions, arrows of Weakness, dispensers, and the effect command can apply Weakness. A witch can also supply the effect, and Java Edition allows a creeper area-effect cloud to do it. These alternatives require more setup, so confirm the status effect before spending the golden apple.
