被 passive construction
B1 被动句（被、叫、让、给） 37 / 56
In short
Chinese marks the passive with 被 (bèi): put the thing acted upon first, then 被 (plus an optional doer), then a verb that carries extra weight - 杯子被他打破了 (bēizi bèi tā dǎ pò le, the cup was broken by him). In casual speech 被 often becomes 叫 (jiào) or 让 (ràng), but those must name the doer. Chinese leans on the passive far less than English - it mostly reports things that went wrong.
The rule
A passive sentence turns the spotlight onto the patient - the person or thing that suffers the action - and lets you name the agent (the doer) after a little marker. The active mirror image, where the doer stays in front and disposes of the object, is the 把 disposal construction; read the two together.
Step 1 - Put the patient first. The affected noun becomes the subject/topic at the very front:
Patient + 被 + (Agent) + Verb + extra element
杯子被他打破了 (bēizi bèi tā dǎ pò le) = cup (patient) + 被 + he (agent) + break + 了.
Step 2 - Name the agent, or drop it - but only with 被. After 被 you may state the doer or leave it out when it is unknown or obvious: 我的自行车被偷了 (wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi tōu le, my bike was stolen) has no agent at all. This drop-the-doer freedom belongs to 被 alone.
Step 3 - The verb can never stand bare. A passive needs the action to land, so the verb must carry something after it - the aspect particle 了 (or the experiential 过 of Experiential aspect 过, though never 着), a resultative, directional or 得-complement, or an object. 他被老师批评 is incomplete; 他被老师批评了 (tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le, he was criticized by the teacher) is right. Complements do the same job: 打破 (dǎ pò, break), 吃光 (chī guāng, eat up), 抓住 (zhuā zhù, catch) - and so do 这台复印机被修过两次 (zhè tái fùyìnjī bèi xiū guo liǎng cì, this photocopier has been repaired twice) and 那件毛衣被洗得缩了水 (nà jiàn máoyī bèi xǐ de suō le shuǐ, that sweater was washed until it shrank).
Step 4 - Negation and adverbs go in front of 被. Words like 没(有) (méi(yǒu)), 不 (bù), 已经 (yǐjīng, already) and 都 (dōu) sit before the marker, never after the agent: 作业还没被检查 (zuòyè hái méi bèi jiǎnchá, the homework hasn’t been checked yet). Passives usually report completed events, so the negation is normally 没, not 不; 不 appears only with a following modal, e.g. 他不会被发现 (tā bú huì bèi fāxiàn, he won’t be found out) - here 不 shifts to bú before the 4th-tone 会.
Step 5 - Colloquial swaps: 叫 / 让 / 给. In speech, 叫 (jiào) and 让 (ràng) replace 被, and 给 (gěi) can stand in or reinforce it. All three feel more spoken and slightly more adversative. The catch with 叫 and 让: they must name a doer - 钱包叫小偷偷走了 (qiánbāo jiào xiǎotōu tōu zǒu le), never a bare 钱包叫偷走了. 给 also tucks in right before the verb for extra colloquial colour: 杯子被他给打破了.
Note the flavour: the 被-passive traditionally reports something unfortunate (loss, damage, being scolded or caught). Modern written Chinese has relaxed this, but when nothing bad happened, a plain active or topic-comment sentence is usually more natural than a passive.
Forms & patterns
The four markers - what they signal and whether the doer can be dropped:
| Marker | Pinyin | Register | Agent required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 被 | bèi | neutral; the default, and the only one used in writing | optional - can be dropped |
| 叫 | jiào | colloquial, spoken | required |
| 让 | ràng | colloquial, spoken | required |
| 给 | gěi | colloquial; also reinforces 被 (被…给…) | usually named |
The slots, front to back:
| Slot | What goes here | Example piece |
|---|---|---|
| Patient (subject) | the affected noun, up front | 杯子 (bēizi) |
| Adverb / negation | 没 / 已经 / 都 - before the marker | 没 (méi) |
| Marker | 被 / 叫 / 让 / 给 | 被 (bèi) |
| Agent | the doer (droppable only after 被) | 他 (tā) |
| Verb + extra | verb plus 了 / 过 / complement / object | 打破了 (dǎ pò le) |
Examples
- 杯子被他打破了。 (Bēizi bèi tā dǎ pò le.) - The cup was broken by him.
- 我的自行车被偷了。 (Wǒ de zìxíngchē bèi tōu le.) - My bike was stolen.
- 他被老师批评了。 (Tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le.) - He was criticized by the teacher.
- 蛋糕被弟弟吃光了。 (Dàngāo bèi dìdi chī guāng le.) - The cake was eaten up by little brother.
- 窗户让风吹开了。 (Chuānghu ràng fēng chuī kāi le.) - The window was blown open by the wind.
- 钱包叫小偷偷走了。 (Qiánbāo jiào xiǎotōu tōu zǒu le.) - The wallet was stolen by a thief.
- 小狗给雨淋湿了。 (Xiǎogǒu gěi yǔ lín shī le.) - The puppy got soaked by the rain.
- 作业还没被老师检查。 (Zuòyè hái méi bèi lǎoshī jiǎnchá.) - The homework hasn’t been checked by the teacher yet.
- 那个坏人终于被警察抓住了。 (Nàge huàirén zhōngyú bèi jǐngchá zhuā zhù le.) - The bad guy was finally caught by the police.
Common mistakes
- 他被老师批评。 -> 他被老师批评了。 (Tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le.) - The verb can’t end the sentence bare; add 了, a complement, or an object so the action lands.
- 他被杯子打破了。 (meaning “the cup broke”) -> 杯子被他打破了。 (Bēizi bèi tā dǎ pò le.) - The patient (what suffers) goes before 被, the agent (doer) after it - reversing them reverses the meaning.
- 他被老师没批评。 -> 他没被老师批评。 (Tā méi bèi lǎoshī pīpíng.) - 没/不 and adverbs sit in front of 被, never after the agent.
- 书叫拿走了。 -> 书被拿走了。 (Shū bèi ná zǒu le.) - Only 被 may drop the doer; 叫/让 need a named agent (or a placeholder 人, e.g. 叫人拿走了).
Tips
- Read a 被-sentence as “X got Verb-ed (by Y).” The order is fixed and English-like: sufferer - 被 - doer - action. That is the opposite of the 把 disposal construction, where the doer leads and disposes of the object.
- 被 is the safe, all-purpose choice - neutral in speech and the only marker you will see in writing. Save 叫/让/给 for casual conversation, and remember they always spell out the doer.
- Don’t calque every English passive. “The problem was solved” is far more naturally 问题解决了 (wèntí jiějué le, topic-comment) than a 被 sentence. Reach for 被 mainly when something unwelcome happened to the subject.
- The verb-can’t-be-bare rule is the same instinct as the 把 disposal construction and resultative complements: Chinese wants the outcome of the action stated, not just the action.