The passive sentence in Chinese 2

Table of Contents

Grammar Point:
The passive sentence in Chinese is called 被字句 bèizìjù. It is used to construct passive structures and can introduce either the doer of the action or the action itself. In this article, we are going to practice how to avoid mentioning the “doer” of the action.

What is Passive Sentence

The passive sentence is formed when the subject of a sentence is the receiver of the action described by the verb. It is the opposite of an active sentence, where the subject performs the action. For example:

Active Sentence	Passive Sentence
弟弟dìdi喝hē了le咖啡kāfēi弟弟dìdi喝hē了le咖啡kāfēi My brother drank coffee.	咖啡kāfēi被bèi弟弟dìdi喝hē了le咖啡kāfēi被bèi弟弟dìdi喝hē了le Coffee was drunk by my brother.
狗gǒu咬yǎo了le我wǒ狗gǒu咬yǎo了le我wǒ The dog bit me.	我wǒ被bèi狗gǒu咬yǎo了le我wǒ被bèi狗gǒu咬yǎo了le I was bitten by a dog.
小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le包包bāobāo小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le包包bāobāo The thief stole the bag.	包包bāobāo被bèi小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le包包bāobāo被bèi小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le The bag was stolen by a thief.

When to Use Passive Sentences

When you want to indicate that someone has been negatively affected or the result is unexpected.

包包bāobāo被bèi小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le包包bāobāo被bèi小偷xiǎotōu偷tōu走zǒu了le
The bag was stolen by a thief.

沒想到méixiǎngdào我wǒ被bèi老師lǎoshī誇獎kuājiǎng了le没想到méixiǎngdào我wǒ被bèi老师lǎoshī夸奖kuājiǎng了le
I didn’t expect to be complimented by my teacher.

When you want to avoid mentioning the “doer” of the action.

包包bāobāo被bèi偷tōu走zǒu了le包包bāobāo被bèi偷tōu走zǒu了le
The bag was stolen.

Structure

S + 被 + V + Something

This something is very important. It can either be a complement, an additional object, or just 了le.

王wáng老師lǎoshī被bèi請qǐng去qù開會kāihuì了le王wáng老师lǎoshī被bèi请qǐng去qù开会kāihuì了le
Mr. Wang was invited to a meeting.

蛋糕dàngāo被bèi吃chī了le蛋糕dàngāo被bèi吃chī了le
The cake was eaten.

蛋糕dàngāo被bèi吃完chīwán了le蛋糕dàngāo被bèi吃完chīwán了le
The cake was eaten up.

我wǒ要yào的de書shū被bèi借jiè走zǒu了le我wǒ要yào的de书shū被bèi借jiè走zǒu了le
The book I wanted was borrowed.

那nà張zhāng畫huà被bèi買mǎi走zǒu了le那nà张zhāng画huà被bèi买mǎi走zǒu了le
The painting was purchased.

你的nǐde蛋糕dàngāo被bèi丟diū掉diào了le你的nǐde蛋糕dàngāo被bèi丢diū掉diào了le
Your cake was thrown away.

Negation and Adverbs

You should always place negation words and adverbs in front of 被 bèi, 叫 jiào, 讓让 ràng in Chinese sentences.

還好háihǎo杯子bēizi沒méi被bèi摔shuāi破pò还好háihǎo杯子bēizi没méi被bèi摔shuāi破pò
Good thing you didn’t break the cup.

教室jiàoshì的de燈dēng早zǎo就jiù被bèi關guān上shàng了le教室jiàoshì的de灯dēng早zǎo就jiù被bèi关guān上shang了le
The lights in the classroom were already turned off.

那樣nàyàng的de壞人huàirén應該yīnggāi被bèi關guān起來qǐlái那样nàyáng的de坏人huàirén应该yīnggāi被bèi关guān起来qǐlái
Bad people like that should be jailed.

Questions

You cannot form a question using 被不被 bèibúbèi. However, you can use question particles like 嗎吗 ma, question words, or 是不是 shìbúshì to form questions.

你nǐ被bèi打dǎ過guò嗎ma？你nǐ被bèi打dǎ过guò吗ma？
Have you been beaten?

你nǐ是不是shìbúshì被bèi打dǎ過guò？你nǐ是不是shìbúshì被bèi打dǎ过guò？
Have you been beaten?

你nǐ被bèi什麼shénme東西dōngxī打dǎ過guò？你nǐ被bèi什么shénme东西dōngxi打dǎ过guò？
What have you been hit with?

FYI
Hey there! Let me tell you a little bit about our culture here. In the past, Taiwan had a practice of using physical punishment in schools and homes. However, I’m happy to inform you that those days are long gone, and such practices have been banned.
Nowadays, we focus more on creating a nurturing and supportive environment for our children and promoting positive discipline methods. It’s important to mention that this topic of physical punishment is still sometimes brought up in conversations among people. They might casually ask each other, “What have you been hit with?”
Please don’t be alarmed if you come across such discussions. It’s just a way for older generations to reminisce about their own experiences and reflect on how times have changed. It’s not something that happens today, and it certainly doesn’t reflect the values and practices of modern Taiwan.