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Level Independent Chinese · HSK 3

被, 受, 由 and 使: Passives and Making Someone Feel

English uses the passive constantly: "the letter was sent", "the house was built in 1900". Chinese uses its passive marker 被 (bèi) much less, mainly for things that happen to someone, often unpleasant ones. Most English passives come out as ordinary active sentences in Chinese.

Object + 被 + (doer) + verb + result

The thing affected comes first, then 被 and the doer (which can be left out), then the verb. Like 把, the verb needs something after it: a result, a direction, or at least 了. In speech, 叫 and 让 can replace 被 when a doer is named.

  • 我的钱包被偷了。

    Wǒ de qiánbāo bèi tōu le.

    My wallet was stolen.

  • 他被老师批评了。

    Tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le.

    He was told off by the teacher.

  • 蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。

    Dàngāo bèi dìdi chīwán le.

    My little brother ate all the cake.

  • 我的自行车让人骑走了。

    Wǒ de zìxíngchē ràng rén qízǒu le.

    Someone rode off on my bike.

Passives without 被

When there's no one to blame and nothing unpleasant, Chinese just puts the object first with no marker: 饭做好了 (dinner is ready), 信寄出去了 (the letter has been sent). Adding 被 here sounds like a translation.

  • 饭做好了。

    Fàn zuòhǎo le.

    Dinner's ready.

  • 信已经寄出去了。

    Xìn yǐjīng jì chūqu le.

    The letter has been sent.

受, 由 and 使

受 (shòu) is "undergo, receive": 受伤 (get hurt), 受到 + noun (影响, 欢迎, 批评), 受欢迎 (popular). 由 (yóu) + person + verb says who is responsible: 这件事由我负责. 使 (shǐ) + person + feeling is the written version of 让: "make someone feel".

  • 他在比赛中受伤了。

    Tā zài bǐsài zhōng shòushāng le.

    He got hurt during the match.

  • 这首歌很受欢迎。

    Zhè shǒu gē hěn shòu huānyíng.

    This song is very popular.

  • 这件事由我负责。

    Zhè jiàn shì yóu wǒ fùzé.

    I'm in charge of this.

  • 这个消息使我很难过。

    Zhège xiāoxi shǐ wǒ hěn nánguò.

    The news made me very sad.

Common mistakes

  • ✗我被他看。

    ✓我被他看见了。

    Wǒ bèi tā kànjiàn le.

    A 被 sentence needs more than a bare verb: add a result, a direction or 了.

  • ✗这本书被写得很好。

    ✓这本书写得很好。

    Zhè běn shū xiě de hěn hǎo.

    Neutral descriptions don't use 被. Just put the topic first.

  • ✗他被欢迎。

    ✓他很受欢迎。

    Tā hěn shòu huānyíng.

    "Popular, well received" is the set phrase 受欢迎.

Questions learners ask

Is 被 always negative?

Traditionally it was mostly for unwelcome events, and that's still the safest way to use it. Modern Chinese also uses it neutrally, especially in news and formal writing: 他被选为班长 (he was elected class monitor).

Where do 没 and 不 go?

Before 被: 他没被批评 (he wasn't criticised).

Practice this in lessons

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