Passive Voice in Vietnamese

Overview

Vietnamese has a distinctive passive system that encodes the speaker's attitude toward the event. "Bị" marks passive events perceived as negative or adverse (something bad happened to the subject), while "được" marks passive events perceived as positive or fortunate. This semantic distinction between adverse and beneficial passive does not exist in English.

At the CEFR B1 level, understanding this dual passive system is important for both comprehension and production. Choosing between "bị" and "được" reveals your evaluation of the event, adding an emotional layer that English passive voice lacks.

The basic pattern is Subject + bị/được + (Agent) + Verb, where the agent (the doer) is optional.

How It Works

Marker	Attitude	Example	Meaning
bị	adverse/negative	Anh ấy bị đánh.	He was hit. (bad)
được	beneficial/positive	Được chọn.	Was selected. (good)

Pattern	Example	Meaning
S + bị + V	Nhà bị bán.	The house was sold (unfortunately).
S + được + V	Được khen.	Was praised (fortunately).
S + bị + Agent + V	Tôi bị bạn lừa.	I was tricked by a friend.
S + được + Agent + V	Cô ấy được mọi người yêu.	She is loved by everyone.

Examples in Context

Vietnamese	English	Note
Anh ấy bị đánh.	He was hit.	adverse passive
Nhà bị bán.	The house was sold (unwanted).	adverse
Được chọn.	Was selected.	beneficial
Bị mắng.	Got scolded.	adverse
Được khen.	Was praised.	beneficial
Tôi bị mất ví.	I lost my wallet.	bị for misfortune
Anh ấy được tuyển.	He was hired.	được for good outcome
Xe bị hỏng.	The car is broken.	bị for malfunction
Được mời đi ăn.	Was invited to eat.	được for invitation
Bị phạt.	Was fined/punished.	adverse consequence

Common Mistakes

Using Bị for Positive Events

• Wrong: Tôi bị thăng chức. (I was promoted -- using adverse marker)
• Right: Tôi được thăng chức.
• Why: Promotion is a good thing; use "được" for beneficial passives.

Using Được for Negative Events

• Wrong: Tôi được phạt. (I was fined -- using beneficial marker)
• Right: Tôi bị phạt.
• Why: Being fined is adverse; use "bị."

Applying English Passive to All Situations

• Wrong: Using passive for every English passive equivalent
• Right: Vietnamese often prefers active voice or topic-comment structure
• Why: Vietnamese uses passive specifically when the adverse/beneficial perspective matters, not as a general alternative to active voice.

Usage Notes

Some events can use either "bị" or "được" depending on the speaker's perspective: "Bị bắt" (was caught -- adverse, e.g., a criminal) vs "Được bắt" (was caught -- beneficial, e.g., a fugitive child found safely). The choice reveals attitude.

In modern informal Vietnamese, "bị" is sometimes used humorously for mildly negative situations: "Bị đẹp quá" (suffers from being too beautiful -- ironic).

Practice Tips

• Sort events into bị (bad) and được (good) categories: bị phạt/mắng/đánh vs được khen/chọn/mời. This builds the evaluative reflex.
• When translating English passive sentences, first ask "Is this good or bad for the subject?" to choose the correct Vietnamese marker.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Verb Structure — passive builds on active verb patterns
• Next steps: Advanced Passive Constructions — passive with explicit agents
• Next steps: Formal Passive and Impersonal — formal written passive