Advanced uses of "bei"
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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.[1][2]
Examples included
- 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)
Other ways to form the passive
被 is not the only way to form the passive in Mandarin Chinese. The prepositions 让 and 叫 are also used in passive constructions, although 被 is more common. For more information, see Causative verbs.
- ↑ Suicided: the adversative passive as a form of active resistance (Victor Mair on Language Log)
- ↑ Forced disappearance: Linguistic considerations (Wikipedia)