Using "bei" sentences

Level

B1 / HSK3
Level

B1
Level

HSK3
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Sentence Patterns, Expressing passive voice
Keywords

被

被 (bèi) sentences, which are called 被字句 (bèizìjù) in Chinese, are a key way to express the passive voice in modern Mandarin Chinese. In passive sentences, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence, and the "doer" of the action, which would have been the subject of the normal (active voice) sentence, becomes secondary and may or may not be mentioned in the passive sentence.

What is a 被 sentence?

被 (bèi) sentences are simply sentences which use a passive verb and the word 被. 被 sentences are not the only way to create the passive verb form in Chinese, but they are the most common and definitely the type to tackle first.

For the sake of clarity, take these sentences for example:

男孩吃了热狗。active voice sentence: "the hot dog" is the object of the verb "ate" Nánhái chī le règǒu .The boy ate the hot dog.
热狗被男孩吃了。"the hot dog" is now the subject, and "the boy" is the "doer"Règǒu bèi nánhái chī le.The hot dog was eaten by the boy.
热狗被吃了。passive voice with the "doer" omittedRègǒu bèi chī le.The hot dog was eaten.

Why use them?

First, passive sentences indicate that one has been negatively affected. For example:

他被打了。Tā bèi dǎ le.He was beaten.

Second, passive sentences shift emphasis from the "doer" of the action to the one affected by that action. For example:

你被公司炒鱿鱼了？Nǐ bèi gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?You got fired by the company?

Third, passive sentences allow one to avoid having to mention the "doer" of the action, either because it is unknown, or for other reasons. For example:

我的手机被偷了。Wǒ de shǒujī bèi tōu le.My cell phone got stolen.

How to Use 被 Sentences

Normal use of 被 has a few preconditions:

The verb to be used with 被 needs to have an object (this will become the new subject of the 被 sentence). Verbs that take objects are called transitive verbs.
If you're going to state who the verb was done by (the "doer"), then the subject doing the original action must be known.
The verb can't be too simple (for example, a one-character verb like 吃). Put simply, something needs to come after the verb. That "something" can be a particle like 了, a complement, or sometimes even an additional object.

Structure

Subj. + 被 (+ Doer) + Verb + 了

Examples

被 sentences with a doer:

我被他骗了。Wǒ bèi tā piàn le.I was deceived by him.
他被警察抓了。Tā bèi jǐngchá zhuā le.He was caught by the police.
他被父母骂了。Tā bèi fùmǔ mà le.He was scolded by his parents.

被 sentences without a doer:

我的车被撞了。Wǒ de chē bèi zhuàng le.My car was hit.
他们做的坏事被发现了。Tāmen zuò de huàishì bèi fāxiàn le.The bad things they've done were discovered.
文件被删了。Wénjiàn bèi shān le.The files were deleted.

Common Errors

咖啡被我喝。Remember: you need SOMEthing after the verb.Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē.
咖啡被我喝了。Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē le.The coffee was drunk by me.
咖啡被我喝 完了 。Kāfēi bèi wǒ hē wán le.The coffee was finished by me.

他被打。Remember: you need SOMEthing after the verb.Tā bèi dǎ.
他被打了。Tā bèi dǎ le.He was beaten.
他被打 伤了 。Tā bèi dǎ shāng le.He was beaten and wounded.

Forming 被 Sentences

You know the basic pattern already, so it's time to go deeper...

Negating 被 Sentences

There's just one other complication. What if you want to make a sentence in the negative? To negate a 被 sentence, you need to insert 没 or 没有 (past) directly in front of 被. For the present and future, use 不.

Some examples:
Doer	Negative	被	Subject	Verb Phrase
他	没有	被		打伤	。
他	没	被		炒鱿鱼	。
她的想法	不	被	父母	理解	。

Question Forms of 被 Sentences

You can make 被 sentences into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Mandarin:

With a question particle
With a question word
With positive-negative verbs

Some examples:

那些书被借 走了 吗？Nàxiē shū bèi jiè zǒu le ma?Have those books been borrowed?
他被谁打的？Tā bèi shéi dǎ de?Who was he beaten by?
你是不是被公司炒鱿鱼了？Nǐ shì bu shì bèi gōngsī chǎo yóuyú le?Did you get fired by the company or not?

被 Sentences with Aspect Particles

The particles 了 and 过 can both be used with 被 constructions, while 着 cannot. 着 indicates an action is "ongoing," which is not appropriate for a 被 construction, which should refer to an already complete action.

Some examples:
Subject	被	Object	Verb	Aspect particle
他	被	老师	打	过	。
你	被	他	骗	了	！
我的车	被		撞	过	。
她	被	男朋友	甩	了	。

被 Sentences with Complements

Both Result complements and Direction complements work well in 被 sentences.