Bei Sentences

Bei Sentences (被字句) are a key way to express the passive in modern Mandarin Chinese. In passive sentences, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence, and what would have been the subject of the normal (active voice) sentence, the "doer" of the action, becomes the agent, and may or may not be indicated.

What they are

For the sake of clarity, let's give some English examples:

• The boy ate the hot dog. (normal sentence in the active voice; note that "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate")
• The hot dog was eaten by the boy. (the same sentence in the passive voice; "the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the agent)
• The hot dog was eaten. (also in the passive voice, but with the agent omitted)

Now let's see those same sentences in Chinese:

• 男孩 吃 了 热狗 。
• 热狗 被 男孩 吃 了 。
• 热狗 被 吃 了 。

Why use them?

Passive sentences are used for several main reasons:

1. To indicate that one has been negatively affected.
   • 我 被 开除 了 。 I have been fired.
   • 我的 热狗 被 吃 了 。 My hot dog has been eaten.
2. To shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action.
   • 我的 老师 肯定 不 会 被 开除 。 My teacher will definitely not be fired.
   • 只 有 那些 很 好吃 的 热狗 被 吃掉 。 Only those really tasty hot dogs were eaten.
3. To avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons.
   • 我 被 开除 了 。 I have been fired.
   • 我的 热狗 被 吃了 。 My hot dog has been eaten.

How to use them

Normal use of 被 has a few preconditions:

1. The verb to be used with 被 needs to have an object (this will become the new subject of the 被 sentence).
2. If you're going to state who the verb was done by (the agent), then the subject doing the original action must be known.
3. The verb can't be too simple (for example, a one-character verb like 吃). Put simply, something needs to come after the verb.

Let's use our example above to show how the process works:

• 男孩 吃 了 热狗 。

In this sentence, "the boy" is the subject. The verb is 吃, "to eat," but it needs something else after it, which is 了 in this case. The object is 热狗, "the hot dog."

This sentence meets all the preconditions. Now all you need to do is introduce the preposition 被 and move the parts of the sentence around a bit:

1. The object is 热狗. Move that to the front; it's the new subject in the 被 sentence.
2. Add 被 after the subject, then insert what was previously the subject. (It's now the agent.)
3. Finish off with the verb phrase 吃了. (Don't forget to include the part that comes after the verb!)

So the new 被 sentence is:

• 热狗 被 男孩 吃 了 。

If we want to, we can also omit the agent (男孩) and say:

• 热狗 被 吃 了 。

Here's a diagram illustrating the process of converting a regular sentence into a 被 sentence:

Advanced modern usage

In recent years, special uses of 被 have popped up online. These uses occur with verbs which don't normally ever use 被, in order to emphasize a lack of control over the action, often including some kind of foul play or underlying statistical falsification.

Examples include:

• 被和谐 to be harmonized
• 被自杀 to be suicided
• 被毕业 to be graduated
• 被就业 to be employed
• 被旅游 to be (forced to) travel
• 被代表 to be represented
• 被失踪 to be disappeared

External links

ChinesePod (free content): Qing Wen - Passive Verbs and 被