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

  • 和谐 to be harmonized)
  • 自杀 to be suicided)
  • 毕业 to be graduated)
  • 就业 to be employed)
  • 旅游 to be (forced to) travel)
  • 代表 to be represented)
  • 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.