被 (bèi) Sentence for Passive Voice
Reach for 被 when you want to put the THING-AFFECTED in the spotlight and describe what was done to it — 'the book was taken,' 'the door was opened.' The receiver moves to subject position, 被 introduces (optionally) the doer, and the verb carries a result. Chinese 被 historically leans toward unfortunate or notable events ('got stolen,' 'was scolded'), though in modern usage it's expanded to neutral reporting too.
Structure
[RECEIVER] 被 [(DOER)] [VERB] [RESULT/COMPLEMENT]
[RECEIVER] bèi [(DOER)] [VERB] [RESULT]
How to Think About It
被 is the 把 sentence flipped — same event, opposite spotlight. Where 把 keeps the doer up front ('I broke the cup'), 被 puts the receiver up front ('the cup was broken by me'). Two rules: the doer after 被 is optional (you can leave it out and say 杯子被打破了), and the verb must NOT stand bare — it needs a result, like 了, 完, 走, 在...上.
Examples
我的钱包被偷了。
Wǒ de qiánbāo bèi tōu le.
My wallet was stolen.
窗户被风吹开了。
Chuānghu bèi fēng chuī kāi le.
The window was blown open by the wind.
他被老师批评了。
Tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le.
He was criticized by the teacher.
Common Mistake
Learners write 被 sentences with a bare verb, mimicking simple English passive 'is taken.' Chinese requires a result tail — at minimum 了 with a clear outcome verb, or a more explicit complement.
我的钱包被偷。
我的钱包被偷了。
Don't Confuse With
把 sentence
Mirror grammar. 把 keeps the doer as subject ('小偷把我的钱包偷了'); 被 puts the receiver as subject ('我的钱包被小偷偷了'). Same event, you choose based on what to highlight.
让 / 叫 + Doer + Verb
Colloquial passive markers ('我的钱包让人偷了'). Same meaning as 被 but more conversational and require the doer slot to be filled. 被 can drop the doer; 让/叫 generally cannot.
Topic-comment with no marker
Chinese often expresses passive meaning with no marker at all: '饭吃完了' = 'the food has been eaten.' Use this when the verb is clearly outcome-focused; reserve 被 for when you want to emphasize that something happened TO the receiver.
Practice
蛋糕 ___ 弟弟吃完了。
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被
我的自行车被人骑 ___ 了。
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走
Put in order: [被 / 打破 / 杯子 / 了]
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杯子被打破了。
Translate to Chinese: 'The book was borrowed by my friend.'
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这本书被我朋友借走了。
Write one 被 sentence about something that happened to one of your belongings.
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Example answer: 我的伞被人拿走了。 (My umbrella was taken by someone.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
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