Level 3 · Intermediate
Passive sentences with 被
Subj. + 被 (+ Doer) + Verb + …
被 (bèi) flips a sentence around so the thing affected comes first: 我的蛋糕被弟弟吃了 "my cake was eaten by my little brother". The doer goes right after 被, or can be left out entirely: 我的手机被拿走了 "my phone got taken".
被 has a flavor: it's most natural for bad news — things getting eaten, taken, broken. And just like 把, the verb can't stand bare: 被他喝 is unfinished, it needs 了 or a result after the verb.
Examples
我的蛋糕被弟弟吃了。
wǒ de dàn gāo bèi dì di chī le
My cake was eaten by my little brother.
他的手机被人拿走了。
他的手機被人拿走了。
tā de shǒu jī bèi rén ná zǒu le
His phone was taken by someone.
那本书被他借走了。
那本書被他借走了。
nà běn shū bèi tā jiè zǒu le
That book was borrowed (and taken away) by him.
鱼被猫吃了。
魚被貓吃了。
yú bèi māo chī le
The fish was eaten by the cat.
Common mistakes
✗ 我的茶被他喝。
✓ 我的茶被他喝了。
The verb after 被 needs 了 or a complement — it can't end the sentence bare.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: The Story of Farmer Paavo · The Lion and the Mouse — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
