Grammar Topic
把 & 被 Constructions in Chinese Grammar
Show what happens to an object, active or passive. Explore 16 high-confidence patterns with explanations and real usage.
把 and 被 at a Glance
- 他把杯子打碎了。
Start with the person acting, then show what they did to a known object.
- 杯子被他打碎了。
Start with the affected object, then show what happened to it.
把 Constructions
把 + Object + VerbUse the 把 construction when a subject handles a specific, known object and the rest of the sentence explains what happens to it. This overview covers the core word order; use the result, direction, and location pages for those specialist complements.
HSK 2把 + Object + Verb + LocationUse this specialist 把 pattern when an action leaves an object at a specific place. The location phrase states where the object ends up: 把书放在桌子上 (put the book on the table).
HSK 2把 + Object + Verb + Result ComplementUse 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. The result complement tells the listener what outcome the action reached.
HSK 2把 + Object + Verb + Direction ComplementUse this specialist 把 pattern when an object moves in a direction relative to the speaker or another reference point. Complements such as 来, 去, 上来, 下去, 进来, and 出去 make the path explicit.
HSK 2把...当成...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. It's a specialized 把 construction where the verb is fixed as 当成 ('treat/regard as'). Use it for relationships ('treat me as family'), priorities ('treat exercise as a task'), and mistaken framings ('treated her as a stranger'). Conversational register; the slightly more formal version swaps 当成 for 当作 or 视为.
HSK 2把字句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. It's the go-to structure for verbs of handling, moving, transforming, finishing, or disposing of something. Without a result on the verb, a 把 sentence sounds broken.
HSK 3-4归咎于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. It's the verb editorials and analysts use for 'attribute the blame to' or 'lay the fault at the feet of.' The flavor is always negative: you never 归咎于 success, only problems, losses, and failures. Save it for written register and news commentary; in conversation, people say 怪 or 都是因为 instead.
HSK 5-6把 / 让 StructureReach 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, often grouped with it in textbooks, is a different beast — it foregrounds the object being acted on (我把书放在桌子上). Both rearrange word order; both signal someone's involvement; that's why textbooks pair them, but they do different jobs.
HSK 2把……视为……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. The flavor is deliberate: 视为 implies considered judgment, not casual perception.
HSK 5-6把……转向……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. Common in essays, lectures, and broadcast scripts where the speaker is steering the audience: 'Let us turn our eyes to the supporting cast.' Speech tends to use 看 or 说 instead; 把……转向…… belongs in deliberate, structured writing.
HSK 5-6把...叫做...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. Drop into news, academic writing, and definitions; in casual speech, people often say 叫 alone without 做.
HSK 3-4把...想成...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'). The 把 construction marks what you're reframing; 想成 specifies the new mental category. Neutral register — common in teaching, coaching, casual advice, and self-help writing.
HSK 2被 Constructions
被 + (Agent) + VerbReach 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.
HSK 2被……所……Reach for 被...所... when you want a formal, written-register passive — 'is/was [verb]ed by ...'. It's the literary upgrade of plain 被: 被 introduces the agent, 所 sits right in front of the verb to give the whole construction a measured, essay-like feel. You'll see it in news, academic writing, and reflective prose, almost never in casual speech.
HSK 5-6可能会被...替代The standard way to say 'may be replaced by...' — a passive prediction. 可能 marks it as uncertain, 会 marks it as future-tense likelihood, 被 introduces the agent doing the replacing, and 替代 is the verb 'to replace.' You'll hear it constantly in 2026 news about AI, automation, and disruption. Use it whenever you want to say something could lose its place to something newer.
HSK 2被批评为...A passive frame for being labeled negatively — 'criticized as X'. The subject is the target of the criticism; 为 introduces the label being slapped on them. This is heavy news/essay language, common in coverage of public figures, regulators, and corporate behavior. It implies a sourced or quotable judgment, not a personal complaint.
HSK 5-6