Passive verbs with "shou"

One can explain 受 (shòu) in two ways, the first of which is as a passive marker, converting the verb placed after it into the passive. Here it plays a role very similar to 被. As in the first example, something or someone can be placed between 受 and the verb, 受学生的欢迎.

受 as a passive marker

Structure

受 + ([Someone / Something]) + Verb

Examples

• 张老师的课 很 受 学生 的 欢迎。 Zhāng Lǎoshī de kè hěn shòu xuéshēng de huānyíng.Teacher Zhang's lessons are welcomed by the students.
• 一个人 不一定 要 变得 很 有钱 或者 很 成功 才 会 受 人 尊重。Yīgè rén bù yīdìng yào biàn dé hěn yǒu qián huòzhě hěn chénggōng cái huì shòu rén zūnzhòng.People don't have to be rich or successful to receive respect from other people.
• 中国 政府 受老百姓的批评。Zhōngguó zhèngfǔ shòu lǎobǎixìng de pīpíng.China's government is rarely criticized by common people.
• 受 冷 空气 的 影响，今天 上海 特别 冷。Shòu lěng kōngqì de yǐngxiǎng, jīntiān Shànghǎi tèbié lěng.Affected by the cold air, today Shanghai is especially cold.
• 你 的 手机 昨晚 一直 打不通，我 想 应该 是 受 信号 干扰。Nǐ de shǒujī zuó wǎn yīzhí dǎ bùtōng, wǒ xiǎng yīnggāi shì shòu xìn hào gānrǎo.I think your cell phone couldn't get through last night because of the signal interference.

It must be noted that if 被 is explained as a passive marker, then in the above examples 欢迎， 尊重， 批评 and 尊重 must all be treated as verbs rather than nouns, despite many of them appearing immediately after 的.

An alternative way to explain 受, is as an active verb itself, meaning 'to obtain' or 'to receive' when dealing with positive aspects, or 'to suffer' when dealing with negative aspects. This explanation may be more accessible to native English speakers. However whichever grammatical explanation one uses, the meaning essentially remains the same.

受 as a verb

Structure

受 + (到/过) + ([Something / Someone]) + Noun / Verb

Examples

• 张老师的课 受到 了 很多 学生 的 欢迎。Zhāng Lǎoshī de kè shòudào le hěnduō xuéshēng de huānyíng.Teacher Zhang's lessons "receive" many students' welcome.
• 一个人 不一定 要 变得 很 有钱 或者 很 成功 才 会 受 人 尊重。Yīgè rén bù yīdìng yào biàn dé hěn yǒu qián huòzhě hěn chénggōng cái huì shòu rén zūnzhòng.People don't have to be rich or successful to receive respect from other people.
• 受 冷 空气 的 影响，今天 上海 特别 冷。Shòu lěng kōngqì de yǐngxiǎng, jīntiān Shànghǎi tèbié lěng."Suffering" the cold air's effect, today Shanghai is especially cold.
• 我 父母 都 没 受过 很好 的 教育。Wǒ fùmǔ dōu méi shòuguò hěn hǎo de jiàoyù.Neither of my parents has "received" any good education.
• 我 在 美国 的 第一年 ， 受到 了 很多 朋友 的 帮助。Wǒ zài Měiguó de dì yī nián, shòudào le hěnduō péngyǒu de bāngzhù.The first year I was in the USA, I “received” a lot of help from many friends.
• 因为 期末 考试 没 考 好，他 受到 了 老师 的 批评。Yīnwèi qímò kǎoshì méi kǎo hǎo, tā shòudào le lǎoshī de pīpíng.He received the teacher's criticism because he didn't do well in the final exam.
• 拐卖 孩子 的 人 应该 受到 法律 的 严惩。Guǎimài háizi de rén yīnggāi shòudào fǎlǜ de yánchéng.People who traffic kids should receive severe punishment from the law.

It must be noted that on the occasions when 受 is followed immediately by 到 or 过，it is preferable to consider 受 as a verb.

See also

• Bei sentence

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 61-2) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词 (pp. 505) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 35) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 1259) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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