被 + (Agent) + Verb
Reach for 被 when you want to put the receiver of an action up front and let the doer fade — or disappear. It's Mandarin's main passive marker and shows up everywhere from news headlines ('the building was burned') to formal writing and complaint speech ('I got scolded'). The agent (who did it) goes between 被 and the verb, but you can omit it entirely when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious. Modern Chinese also uses 被 freely for neutral facts, not just unfortunate events.
Structure
[RECEIVER] 被 ([AGENT]) [VERB] [RESULT/COMPLEMENT]
bèi ([AGENT]) [VERB]...
How to Think About It
被 flips the camera onto the receiver. The verb in a 被 sentence almost always needs a result, complement, or 了 attached — bare verbs sound incomplete, because passive sentences in Chinese describe what happened TO something, and that requires a stated effect. If you can drop the agent without losing meaning, drop it; over-specifying the doer makes the sentence sound like a translated English passive rather than natural Chinese.
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.
他的自行车被偷了。
Tā de zìxíngchē bèi tōu le.
His bike was stolen.
那本书被妹妹拿走了。
Nà běn shū bèi mèimei ná zǒu le.
That book was taken away by little sister.
这座桥被洪水冲毁了。
Zhè zuò qiáo bèi hóngshuǐ chōnghuǐ le.
This bridge was destroyed by the flood.
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。
Common Mistake
Learners write 被-sentences with a bare verb ('被打') and no result, copying English 'was hit.' Chinese expects the verb to carry a result, 了, or a directional complement, otherwise the listener feels the sentence has been cut off.
鲸鱼被炸。
鲸鱼被炸成了无数块。
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.
把 + Object + Verb + Result
Use 把 when you want to spotlight the AGENT doing something to the object. 被 spotlights the OBJECT receiving the action.
让 / 叫 + Agent + Verb
Use 让/叫 for colloquial passive, often with a tone of complaint ('my bike got stolen by someone'). 被 is the neutral, register-flexible default.
Practice
蛋糕 ___ 弟弟吃完了。
Show answer
被
我的自行车被人骑 ___ 了。
Show answer
走
Put in order: [被 / 打破 / 杯子 / 了]
Show answer
杯子被打破了。
Translate to Chinese: 'The book was borrowed by my friend.'
Show answer
这本书被我朋友借走了。
Write one 被 sentence about something that happened to one of your belongings.
Show answer
Example answer: 我的伞被人拿走了。 (My umbrella was taken by someone.)
Fill in the blank: 我的手机 ___ 弟弟弄坏了。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 10 Fluentide episodes:
已经宣布的交易，要被强制拆开。
成千上万的航班被取消或者延误。
这时候当地的电力设施被严重破坏
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 被 + (Agent) + Verb in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.