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Grammar Topic

把 & 被 Constructions in Chinese Grammar

Choose 把 when the sentence follows what someone does to a known object. Choose 被 when the affected object needs to be the center of attention.

Choose the structure by meaning

These constructions are about sentence focus and outcome, not word-for-word transformations.

Focus on what someone does to a known object

他把杯子打碎了。

Tā bǎ bēizi dǎ suì le.

He broke the cup.

把 + Object + Verb

bǎ [OBJECT] [VERB] [RESULT]

Focus on what happened to the object

杯子被他打碎了。

Bēizi bèi tā dǎ suì le.

The cup was broken by him.

被 + (Agent) + Verb

bèi ([AGENT]) [VERB]...

Show the object ends with a clear result

我把作业写完了。

Wǒ bǎ zuòyè xiě wán le.

I finished the homework.

把 + Object + Verb + Result Complement

bǎ

Say something unwanted or neutral happened to the receiver

手机被偷了。

Shǒujī bèi tōu le.

The phone was stolen.

被 + Verb

bèi

Common mix-ups

When 把 is required or unnatural

bǎ

把 works best with a specific object and a visible result. Avoid it for vague objects or verbs with no outcome.

把门关上 = close the door; 把一个东西喜欢 is unnatural.

bǎ mén guān shàng

把 vs ordinary SVO

bǎ vs normal word order

Use ordinary SVO to state the action. Use 把 when the sentence needs to highlight what happened to the object.

我洗衣服 = I wash clothes; 我把衣服洗干净了 = I washed the clothes clean.

wǒ xǐ yīfu; wǒ bǎ yīfu xǐ gānjìng le

被 with or without the agent

bèi

The agent after 被 can be named, but it can also disappear when the receiver and result matter more.

杯子被他打碎了; 杯子被打碎了.

bēizi bèi tā dǎ suì le; bēizi bèi dǎ suì le

Looking for a specific 把 or 被 construction?

Open the complete reference when you need the exact construction. It stays split by 把 and 被.

Browse all 把 and 被 patterns (16)

把 Constructions

12 patterns
把 + Object + Verbbǎ [OBJECT] [VERB] [RESULT]HSK 2
Use the 把 construction when a subject handles a specific, known object and the rest of the sentence explains what happens to it.
把 + Object + Verb + LocationbǎHSK 2
Use this specialist 把 pattern when an action leaves an object at a specific place.
把 + Object + Verb + Result ComplementbǎHSK 2
Use this 把 pattern when the verb produces a clear result in the object: finish it, break it, clean it, open it, or otherwise change its state.
把 + Object + Verb + Direction ComplementbǎHSK 2
Use this specialist 把 pattern when an object moves in a direction relative to the speaker or another reference point.
把...当成...bǎ... dāngchéng...HSK 2
Reach for this when you want to say someone treats, considers, or regards X as Y — and you want to highlight the act of categorizing itself.
把字句bǎ [OBJECT] [VERB]...HSK 3-4
Reach for the 把 sentence when you want to spotlight what happens TO an object — 'I took the cup and broke it,' 'they pushed the door open,' 'she put the keys on the table.' Mandarin pulls the object out from its usual spot after the verb and parks it after 把, then loads the verb with a result, direction, or change.
归咎于guī jiù yúHSK 5-6
Reach for 归咎于 when you want to formally pin blame for a bad outcome on a specific cause — economic damage, an accident, a failed policy.
把 / 让 Structureràng / bǎ + [object/person] + [verb]HSK 2
Reach for 让 when you want to say something or someone causes/lets another party do something — 'make X do Y' or 'let X do Y.' It's Chinese's main causative verb: 让我看 (let me see), 这件事让我难过 (this makes me sad), 让他试试 (let him try).
把……视为……bǎ... shì wéi...HSK 5-6
Reach for 把……视为…… when you want to say someone treats, regards, or classifies something as a particular kind of thing — 'view X as Y,' 'regard X as Y.' It's the formal cousin of 把……看成……, used in essays, news commentary, and any context where you're describing how an institution, society, or thoughtful speaker frames something.
把……转向……bǎ... zhuǎnxiàng...HSK 5-6
Reach for this written-register phrase when you want to redirect attention or focus — 'turn X toward Y.' The 把 marks the thing being redirected (gaze, attention, focus, conversation), and 转向 names the new target.
把...叫做...bǎ... jiào zuò...HSK 3-4
Use 把……叫做…… to say what someone calls or names something — 'people call X by the name Y.' Common in writing when you're introducing a term: 'sociologists call this kind of situation racism without racists.' The 把 fronts the thing being named; 叫做 (literally 'called as') is the verb that delivers the label.
把...想成...bǎ ... xiǎng chéngHSK 2
Reach for this when you want to tell someone to mentally reframe one thing as another — 'think of X as Y.' A teaching and persuasion pattern: explaining new concepts by analogy, easing fear ('think of the test as just practice'), or correcting a misperception ('don't think of him as a stranger').

被 Constructions

4 patterns
被 + (Agent) + Verbbèi ([AGENT]) [VERB]...HSK 2
Reach for 被 when you want to put the receiver of an action up front and let the doer fade — or disappear.
被……所……bèi... suǒ...HSK 5-6
Reach for 被...所...
可能会被...替代kěnéng huì bèi... tìdàiHSK 2
The standard way to say 'may be replaced by...' — a passive prediction.
被批评为...bèi pīpíng wéi...HSK 5-6
A passive frame for being labeled negatively — 'criticized as X'.

Other grammar topics

ComparisonAspect ParticlesComplementsConditionalsConnectivesQuestionsNegation

The method in practice

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