被 + Agent + Verb
Reach for this when you want a full passive sentence — subject gets acted on, AND you want to name who did it. The subject sits at the front, 被 introduces the agent, and the verb (usually with a result, 了, or other tail) follows. Common in news, formal writing, and any moment when the receiver of the action matters more than the doer — but you still want to name the doer.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 被 [AGENT] [VERB] (+ result/了)
bèi [AGENT] [VERB]
How to Think About It
Chinese passives feel heavier than English ones. English uses passives freely; Chinese reserves 被 for situations with real impact — something happened TO the subject, and the result matters. The agent slot is optional ('被取消' = was cancelled), but adding the agent turns the spotlight onto who caused it ('被警察抓了' = got caught by the police). The verb almost always carries a tail (了, a result, a complement) — a bare 被 + verb sounds incomplete.
Examples
我的自行车被小偷偷走了。
Wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi xiǎotōu tōu zǒu le.
My bike was stolen by a thief.
蛋糕被弟弟吃光了。
Dàngāo bèi dìdi chī guāng le.
The cake was finished off by my little brother.
他被老板骂了一顿。
Tā bèi lǎobǎn mà le yī dùn.
He got chewed out by the boss.
Common Mistake
Learners use 被 for any English passive, including neutral or positive ones like 'I was invited.' Chinese 被 historically carried a negative or unwanted nuance — for neutral events, an active sentence or 由 reads more natural. Also, the verb after 被 can't be bare; it needs 了 or a result.
我被朋友邀请。
我被朋友邀请去吃饭了。
Don't Confuse With
被 + Verb
Agentless passive — you skip who did it: '航班被取消了' (the flight was cancelled). Use the agented version when naming the doer is informative.
把 + Object + Verb
Same event, opposite camera angle. 把 = active spotlight on the object; 被 = passive spotlight on the receiver. '小偷把钱包偷走了' vs. '钱包被小偷偷走了'.
让/叫 + Agent + Verb
Colloquial passive substitutes. 让 and 叫 sound more conversational than 被. '我让蚊子咬了' is everyday speech; '我被蚊子咬了' works in both speech and writing.
Practice
我的手机 ___ 妹妹弄坏了。
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被
那本书被他借 ___ 了。
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走
Put in order: [被 / 雨 / 我 / 淋湿 / 了]
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我被雨淋湿了。
Translate to Chinese: 'The window was broken by the kids.'
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窗户被孩子们打破了。
Write one sentence about something unexpected that happened to you, using 被 + Agent + Verb.
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Example answer: 我的钱包被人偷走了。 (My wallet got stolen by someone.)