被 Sentence

Introduction to 被 Sentences

The 被 sentence is the primary way to express passive voice in Chinese. It emphasizes what happened to someone or something rather than who performed the action.

In English, passive voice is formed with “to be + past participle” (e.g., “was cheated”). In Chinese, the passive is formed by placing the Receiver of the action at the beginning, followed by 被 + the Doer of the action.

Receiver + 被 + Doer + V + 了/Complement

Active to Passive Transformation

Active Voice

同事骗了他。

His colleague cheated him.

Focus on who did the action.

被
transform

Passive Voice

他被同事骗了。

He was cheated by his colleague.

Focus on what happened to receiver.

Key Difference: The passive voice with 被 emphasizes the receiver’s experience rather than the doer’s action.

Key Characteristics of 被 Sentences

1. Verb Requirements

The verb is always followed by 了 or some other complement:

骗了 (cheated)

偷了 (stolen)

感动了 (moved)

报道了 (reported)

This indicates the action is completed.

2. Emphasis Shift

被 sentences shift emphasis from the doer to the receiver:

Active: 同事骗了他。

Emphasis: Colleague (who did it)

Passive: 他被同事骗了。

Emphasis: He (what happened to him)

同事

tóngshì

colleague

小偷

xiǎotōu

thief

记者

jìzhě

journalist

他的真诚

tā de zhēnchéng

his sincerity

Basic Structure and Examples

The basic structure of a 被 sentence follows the pattern: Receiver + 被 + Doer + Verb + 了/Complement. This structure clearly shows who received the action, who performed it, and what action was performed.

Note that 都 (dōu) can be added before 被 to emphasize “all” or “completely,” as shown in the examples.

Receiver + (都) + 被 + Doer + V + 了

Basic 被 Sentence Examples

Structure	Chinese	English Translation
Receiver + 被 + Doer + V + 了	他被同事骗了。 tā bèi tóngshì piàn le.	He was cheated by his colleague.
Receiver + 被 + Doer + V + 了	弟弟的手机被小偷偷了。 dìdi de shǒujī bèi xiǎotōu tōu le.	My brother’s phone was stolen by the thief.
Receiver + (都) + 被 + Doer + V + 了	所有人(都)被他的真诚感动了。 suǒyǒu rén (dōu) bèi tā de zhēnchéng gǎndòng le.	All people were moved by his sincerity.
Receiver + 都 + 被 + Doer + V + 了	那个男明星的丑闻都被记者报道了。 nàgè nán míngxīng de chǒuwén dōu bèi jìzhě bàodào le.	The scandal of the male star has been reported by the journalist.

The Receiver

The Receiver is the entity that undergoes the action:

Position: At the beginning of the sentence

Function: Becomes the grammatical subject

Examples:

他 (he)

弟弟的手机 (brother’s phone)

所有人 (all people)

那个男明星的丑闻 (that male star’s scandal)

Key Point: The receiver is the focus of the sentence – what happened to them/it.

被 (bèi) Function

被 is the passive marker meaning “by”:

Meaning: “by” (indicating the doer of the action)

他被同事骗了。

He was cheated by his colleague.

Position: Between receiver and doer

Grammar Role: Passive voice marker

Function: Signals that what follows is the doer in a passive construction.

Note: 被 is always followed by the doer (except in special cases where doer is omitted).

The Doer

The Doer is the entity that performs the action:

Position: After 被, before verb

Function: Specifies who performed the action

Examples:

同事 (colleague)

小偷 (thief)

他的真诚 (his sincerity)

记者 (journalist)

Note: The doer can be a person, group, or even an abstract concept (like “sincerity”).

Verb + 了/Complement

The verb must be followed by additional elements:

他

被

同事

骗

了

了 (le): Most common complement

骗了 (cheated)

Indicates completed action

Other Complements: Result complements, direction complements, etc.

打破了 (broken)

拿走了 (taken away)

Rule: Verb cannot stand alone.

Special Cases and Variations

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Usage Notes and Practice