被 Passive in Mandarin Chinese

In Brief

A 被 sentence puts the person or thing affected by an action first: 受事 + 被 + 施事 + 动词短语. For example, 我被老师批评了 means “I was criticized by the teacher.” The agent—the person or thing doing the action—can sometimes be omitted, but the verb normally needs enough information to show what happened or what result was reached.

Overview

Mandarin often uses ordinary subject–verb–object order: 老师批评了我 (“The teacher criticized me”). A 被字句 changes the viewpoint. It makes the affected participant, 我, the subject (the person or thing the sentence is about grammatically), while the original actor follows 被: 我被老师批评了. This is commonly called the passive, because the subject undergoes the action rather than carrying it out.

The basic pattern is introduced around A2 and is especially useful when the affected person or object is already the topic, when the actor is unknown or unimportant, or when the result matters more than who caused it. News reports, warnings, personal stories, and descriptions of accidents all provide natural settings for it.

English speakers should not replace every English “be + past participle” passive with 被. Mandarin frequently keeps an active sentence, uses a subjectless sentence, or simply places a known object at the beginning as the topic. 被 is a deliberate way of highlighting that something underwent an action or was affected by its result.

How It Works

The core pattern

The patient (the person or thing affected) comes first. The agent (the person or thing performing or causing the action) follows 被.

Pattern	Mandarin model	Meaning
Patient + 被 + agent + verb phrase	我 + 被 + 老师 + 批评了	I was criticized by the teacher.
Patient + 被 + verb phrase	钱 + 被 + 偷走了	The money was stolen.

In a corresponding active sentence, the agent is normally the subject and the patient is the object (the person or thing the verb acts on):

• 老师批评了我。 — The teacher criticized me.
• 我被老师批评了。 — I was criticized by the teacher.

The event is the same, but the second sentence presents it from 我’s point of view.

Including or omitting the agent

Include the agent when its identity is useful:

• 窗户被孩子打破了。 — The window was broken by the child.
• 我的伞被同事拿走了。 — My umbrella was taken away by a colleague.

Modern Mandarin can omit the agent after 被 when it is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant:

• 钱被偷了。 — The money was stolen.
• 比赛被取消了。 — The match was cancelled.
• 他被送到医院了。 — He was taken to the hospital.

When the agent is omitted, 被 is followed directly by the verb phrase. Do not insert the English verb “be”: 被 already marks the passive relationship.

Build a complete verb phrase

A bare one-syllable verb often sounds unfinished in a 被 sentence. Mandarin usually says what happened to completion, what result followed, where something went, or otherwise gives the verb more weight. Common ways to do this include:

What completes the verb phrase	Example	Function
Aspect marker 了	钱被偷了。	Presents the event as having occurred or a new situation
Result complement	门被打开了。	Gives the result: the door ended up open
Direction/result	伞被拿走了。	Shows that the umbrella was taken away
Quantity or object	他被批评了一次。	Adds an occurrence count
Longer verb	计划被取消了。	A two-syllable verb may carry more lexical weight

This is why 门被他打 feels incomplete in an ordinary report. 门被他打开了 (“The door was opened by him”) or 门被他打破了 (“The door was broken by him”) tells the listener what actually resulted.

The principle is not “every passive verb must have 了.” Rather, the whole predicate (the part that says what happened) must suit the intended message. Negation, a modal verb, a result complement, duration, or context can provide that completeness.

Negation and modal verbs come before 被

To deny the passive event, put 没(有) or 不 before 被:

• 我的手机没被偷。 — My phone was not stolen.
• 这个问题还没有被解决。 — This problem has not yet been solved.
• 他不想被别人打扰。 — He does not want to be disturbed by others.

Use 没(有) for an event that did not happen or has not happened. Use 不 for general refusal, intention, habit, or a modal expression. Words such as 会, 可能, 应该, and 不想 also normally precede 被:

• 会议可能会被取消。 — The meeting may be cancelled.
• 这些文件不应该被删除。 — These files should not be deleted.

Time and frequency usually come before 被

A time phrase normally appears before the 被 phrase, often after the patient:

• 他昨天被经理叫走了。 — He was called away by the manager yesterday.
• 这条路每年都会被大雪封住。 — This road is blocked by heavy snow every year.

A duration or number of occurrences can follow the verb:

• 我被问了三次。 — I was asked three times.
• 机场被关闭了两个小时。 — The airport was closed for two hours.

被 is not automatically past tense

Mandarin verbs do not change form for tense. 被 can describe past, present, future, repeated, or hypothetical events; time words, aspect markers, and context supply that information:

• 他昨天被批评了。 — He was criticized yesterday.
• 这座桥每天都被检查。 — This bridge is inspected every day.
• 结果明天会被公布。 — The results will be announced tomorrow.

Examples in Context

Mandarin	English	Note
钱被偷了。	The money was stolen.	The agent is unknown or irrelevant.
我被老师批评了。	I was criticized by the teacher.	The agent is stated after 被.
他被车撞了。	He was hit by a car.	An unwanted event affecting a person.
作业被做完了。	The homework was finished.	做完 gives the result “finish doing.”
门被风吹开了。	The door was blown open by the wind.	吹开 expresses the resulting open state.
我的咖啡被妹妹喝光了。	My younger sister drank all my coffee.	English naturally prefers an active translation; 喝光 means “drink up.”
她的名字被写错了。	Her name was written incorrectly.	写错 identifies the result: written wrong.
比赛因为下雨被取消了。	The match was cancelled because of the rain.	The cause is given; the human agent is not.
他被送到医院了。	He was taken to the hospital.	送到 supplies a destination.
这个问题还没有被解决。	This problem has not yet been solved.	Negation and 还 come before 被.
会议可能会被推迟。	The meeting may be postponed.	Modal words precede 被.
这些照片不能被公开。	These photos must not be made public.	A rule or prohibition, not a past event.
我不想被别人误会。	I do not want to be misunderstood by others.	被 occurs inside the object of 想.
这本书已经被翻译成中文了。	This book has already been translated into Chinese.	翻译成 states the resulting language.
他昨天被经理问了三次。	He was questioned by the manager three times yesterday.	Time precedes 被; frequency follows the verb.

Notice that a natural English translation does not always remain passive. 我的咖啡被妹妹喝光了 focuses on the coffee and the unwanted result; “My younger sister drank all my coffee” is usually more idiomatic English while preserving that meaning.

Common Mistakes

Copying every English passive with 被

• Awkward: 中文被很多人说。
• More natural: 很多人说中文。 — Many people speak Chinese.
• Why: A neutral fact about what many people do does not need a patient-focused passive. Use 被 when the affected participant or the event’s impact is genuinely central.

Putting the agent before 被

• Wrong: 我老师被批评了。 (intended: “I was criticized by the teacher.”)
• Right: 我被老师批评了。
• Why: The patient comes before 被; the agent comes after it. The wrong version can instead suggest that “my teacher” is the person who was criticized.

Leaving a short verb unsupported

• Incomplete in an ordinary report: 门被他打。
• Right: 门被他打开了。 — The door was opened by him.
• Right: 门被他打破了。 — The door was broken by him.
• Why: A result complement such as 开 or 破 makes clear what happened to the door. Choose the result that matches the event rather than adding 了 mechanically.

Putting negation after 被

• Wrong: 手机被没偷。
• Right: 手机没被偷。 — The phone was not stolen.
• Why: 没(有), 不, and most modal expressions belong before 被.

Treating 被 as a past-tense marker

• Wrong assumption: 被 means “was.”
• Correct contrast: 每天被检查 — is inspected every day; 明天会被检查 — will be inspected tomorrow.
• Why: 被 marks the passive relationship, not time. Mandarin expresses time through context, time phrases, aspect, and modal words.

Omitting the agent after 让 or 叫

• Wrong or highly unnatural for the intended passive: 车让偷了。
• Right: 车让人偷了。 — The car was stolen.
• Why: Colloquial passive 让 and 叫 generally require an agent, even if it is the nonspecific 人 (“someone/people”). This differs from modern 被, which can stand directly before the verb.

Usage Notes

被 often highlights an adverse or noticeable effect

Traditional descriptions associate 被 with misfortune, and many everyday examples do involve theft, damage, criticism, interruption, or accidents. Sentences such as 我被老师批评了 and 他被车撞了 fit this tendency well. The construction places the affected participant first and makes the impact easy to feel.

However, 被 is not grammatically limited to negative events. Neutral and positive passives are normal, especially in modern formal writing and where the affected item is the established topic:

• 她被选为队长了。 — She was chosen as team captain.
• 这部电影被很多观众喜爱。 — This film is loved by many viewers.
• 这个发现被认为很重要。 — This discovery is considered important.

For beginners, “often adverse” is a useful tendency, not a rule that blocks every positive sentence.

Chinese often avoids an explicit passive

If the actor is obvious or does not matter, Mandarin may simply omit it:

• 问题解决了。 — The problem has been solved / The problem is resolved.
• 饭做好了。 — The food is ready / The meal has been prepared.
• 票卖完了。 — The tickets have sold out / All the tickets have been sold.

These are sometimes called notional passives: the meaning is passive-like, but there is no passive marker. They are extremely common and often more natural than adding 被. English grammar encourages a clear active/passive choice because the verb form changes; Mandarin can rely more freely on topic and context.

Spoken and written settings differ

In conversation, 被 is common when recounting something that happened to someone: 我又被老板骂了 (“I got told off by my boss again”). In formal reports, academic prose, instructions, and news, it can organize information around the entity affected: 数据被保存到服务器上 (“The data is saved to the server”). Formal writing also uses alternatives such as 受到 and 遭到, discussed in the related B2 concept.

Beyond the Basics: Other Passive Patterns

You do not need to produce all of these at A2, but you will encounter them later.

让 and 叫 in colloquial passives

让 and 叫 can introduce an agent in conversational passive sentences:

• 我的自行车让人骑走了。 — Someone rode off with my bicycle.
• 衣服叫雨淋湿了。 — The clothes got soaked by the rain.

These words can also mean “let” or “make,” so context determines whether the reading is passive or causative. Unlike 被, they generally retain an agent: 人, 他, 雨, and so on.

给 as a colloquial marker

In some varieties of spoken Mandarin, 给 can contribute to passive marking, often together with 被, 让, or 叫:

• 蛋糕被弟弟给吃完了。 — The cake got completely eaten by my younger brother.

Here 给 adds a colloquial, emphatic flavor and draws attention to the completed or consequential event. It does not mean the cake was “given.” Usage varies by region and style, so recognizing it is more important than forcing it into beginner speech.

Keeping an object after the passive verb

A simple active verb loses its original object when that object becomes the patient at the front:

• 小王打破了杯子。 — Xiaowang broke the cup.
• 杯子被小王打破了。 — The cup was broken by Xiaowang.

Yet the passive verb phrase may still contain another object or complement when the verb permits it:

• 他被老师问了一个问题。 — He was asked a question by the teacher.
• 她被公司授予了一个奖项。 — She was granted an award by the company.

This is more advanced because Mandarin verbs differ in what complements they can take. Learn such patterns as complete phrases rather than assuming that any English double-object passive maps directly onto Chinese.

被 in compact written expressions

Written Mandarin can use 被 before established disyllabic verbs without 了, particularly in general statements, labels, relative clauses, or modal contexts:

• 被保护的动物 — protected animals
• 容易被忽视的问题 — a problem that is easily overlooked
• 未经允许不得被复制 — must not be copied without permission

This helps explain why the beginner advice “complete the verb phrase” is better than the rigid rule “always add 了.” Written context and modifiers can already make the structure complete.

Practice Tips

1. Transform active sentences in pairs. Start with 老师批评了我, underline the object 我, move it to the front, and add 被老师: 我被老师批评了. Then compare which viewpoint fits a short story better.
2. Learn result combinations, not isolated verbs. Build a small list such as 偷走, 打破, 打开, 吃完, 喝光, 写错, and 取消. These make natural 被 sentences much easier to form.
3. Listen for alternatives. When subtitles use an English passive, check whether the Mandarin audio contains 被, a marker such as 让, or no passive marker at all. This prevents word-for-word translation habits.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Sentence Structure — review ordinary subject–verb–object order before changing the viewpoint with 被.
• Next steps: Passive Alternatives — compare 叫, 让, 给, 受到, 遭到, and passive meanings without an overt marker.