被 Passive Voice — Basic Pattern
Use 被 (bèi) to form passive sentences: 书被他拿走了 (the book was taken away by him). Learn the agentless passive (书被拿走了), when Chinese speakers prefer passive constructions, and the negative connotation 被 often carries.
A lesson of Mandarin B1 — Intermediate, in 把 and 被 Constructions, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will form passive sentences with 被 (bèi), understand when to include the agent, and recognize the negative or unfortunate connotation 被 often carries.
Passive Voice in Mandarin
In English, passive voice is common and neutral: "The book was read," "The window was opened." In Mandarin, passive voice works differently. The passive marker 被 (bèi) is used far less than English passive — and when it does appear, it often implies that something unfortunate, undesirable, or unexpected happened to the subject.
This cultural nuance is as important as the grammar itself.
The Basic 被 Pattern
Subject (patient) + 被 + Agent + Verb + Result
| Element | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 书 | what was affected (patient) | 书 (shū — the book) |
| 被 | passive marker | 被 |
| 他 | who did it (agent) | 他 (tā — him) |
| 拿走了 | verb + result | 拿走了 (taken away) |
Full sentence: 书被他拿走了。(Shū bèi tā ná zǒu le.) The book was taken away by him.
Examples with an Agent
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我的钱包被小偷偷走了。 | Wǒ de qiánbāo bèi xiǎotōu tōu zǒu le. | My wallet was stolen by a thief. |
| 蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。 | Dàngāo bèi dìdi chī wán le. | The cake was eaten up by my younger brother. |
| 那封信被妈妈看到了。 | Nà fēng xìn bèi māma kàn dào le. | That letter was seen by Mom. |
| 他的自行车被人骑走了。 | Tā de zìxíngchē bèi rén qí zǒu le. | His bicycle was ridden away by someone. |
Notice: in every example, something unwanted happened to the subject. The bike was taken; the letter was seen unexpectedly; the wallet was stolen.
Agentless 被 — When the Agent Is Unknown or Irrelevant
You can omit the agent entirely and just use 被 + verb + result: