Chinese Grammar | How to use 被(bèi) – the passive voice

Curious about using 被(bèi) in Chinese for the passive voice? We’ve got your back! No more confusion, just straightforward explanations and practical examples. In this episode, Lori helps you crack the code on “被” with 3 basic forms, so you can level up your Chinese skills. Let’s dive in!

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➡️ Reference
● Chinese Grammar | How to sound like a native Chinese speaker using “Topic-comment Structure”

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💠 ① Basic Form

• Subj. + 被(bèi) + (Agent +) Verb + Complement (完/掉/光) /other elements (了)
• e.g.
  ① 我被(老師)叫去掃地。/我被(老师)叫去扫地。
  I was asked to clean the floor (by the teacher).
  
  ② 他被誤會了。/他被误会了。
  He was misunderstood.
  
  ③ 蛋糕被吃掉了。/蛋糕被吃掉了。
  The cake was eaten.
• Challenge
  
  ⭕ 他打我。He hit me.
  ⇒ 我被他打。
  
  ⭕ 我弟弟喝了我的珍珠奶茶。 My brother drank my bubble milk tea.
  ⇒ 我的珍珠奶茶被我弟弟喝了。
  

💠 ② Basic Negation Form

• Subj. + 沒(有)被(bèi) + (Agent +) Verb + Complement (好/完/掉/光)
• e.g.
  ① 我沒被(老師)叫去掃地。/我没被(老师)叫去扫地。
  The teacher didn’t ask me to clean the floor.
  
  ② 他沒被誤會。/他没被误会。
  He wasn’t misunderstood.
• Challenge
  ⭕ The cake wasn’t eaten.
  ⇒ 蛋糕沒(有)被吃(掉/完)。/ 蛋糕没有被吃(掉/完)。
  
  ⭕ The door(門) wasn’t closed(关上).
  ⇒ 門沒(有)被關上。/ 门没(有)被关上。

💠 ③ Omission Form

• Subj. + Verb + Complement (好/錯) /other elements (了)
• e.g.
  ① 地沒有掃。/地没有扫。
  The floor hasn’t been cleaned.
  
  ② 名字寫錯了。/名字写错了。
  The name is misspelled. (You got the name wrong.)
• Subj. + (不)是 + Time + Place + Verb + Complement (的)
• e.g.
  ③ 車子是去年買的。/车子是去年买的。
  The car was bought last year.
  
  ④ 房子不是2021年蓋的。/房子不是2021年盖的。
  The house wasn’t built in 2021.
• Challenge
  
  ⭕ The homework (作业) hasn’t been finished. (完成；写完)
  ⇒ 作業沒(有)寫完。/ 作业没(有)写完。
  
  ⭕ The letter (信) was written last night.
  ⇒ 信是昨晚寫的。/ 信是昨晚写的。
  (⇒ 信昨晚寫了。/ 信昨晚写了。)

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