Chinese learning

Daily learning flow

Back to word library

bèi

by (passive)

Usage note

”字通常用于表示动的动作,即动作的承受者。例如:他老师表扬了。这里的‘’表明他是接受表扬的一方。

" bèi zì cháng yòng yú biǎoshì pàndòng de dòngzuò, jí dòngzúde qīngshòuzhě.例 如:tā bèi lǎoshī piáobāng le. 這裡的‘被’明 確表明他是接受表揚的一方。"

"被" is typically used to indicate passive actions, where the receiver of the action is shown. For example: He was praised by his teacher. Here, '被' clearly shows that he received the praise.

Context note

”字常用于描述动的情况,比如:雨淋湿了、妈妈叫醒。

" bèi zì cháng yòng yú miáo shù pàndòng de qíngkuàng, bǐrú: bèi yǔ lín shī le 、 bèi māma jiào xǐng 。"

"被" is often used to describe passive situations, such as: being rained on, being woken up by mom.

5 examples

雨淋湿了。
tā bèi yǔ lín shī le。
He was wetted by the rain.
衣服我弄脏了。
yī fu bèi wǒ nòng zāng le。
My clothes were stained by me.
书本风吹走了。
shū běn bèi fēng chuī zǒu le。
The book was blown away by the wind.
老师批评了。
tā bèi lǎo shī pī píng le。
He was criticized by his teacher.
这个蛋糕吃掉了。
zhè ge dàn gāo bèi chī diào le。
This cake was eaten up.

5 mini stories

小明妈妈叫醒了,然后去上学了。
xiǎo míng bèi mā ma jiào xǐng le, rán hòu qù shàng xué le。
Xiaoming was woken up by his mom, then went to school.
昨天晚上,他雨淋湿了衣服。
zuó tiān wǎn shàng, tā bèi yǔ lín shī le yī fu。
Last night, he got wet from the rain.
妈妈把书本放在桌子上,后来风吹走了。
mā ma bǎ shū běn fàng zài zhuō zi shàng, hòu lái bèi fēng chuī zǒu le。
Mom put the book on the table, but it was blown away by the wind.
老师表扬了,所以心情很好。
tā bèi lǎo shī biǎo yáng le, suǒ yǐ xīn qíng hěn hǎo。
He was praised by his teacher, so he felt very happy.
这个蛋糕吃掉了,现在没有了。
zhè ge dàn gāo bèi chī diào le, xiàn zài méi yǒu le。
This cake was eaten up, now there is none left.

Mini dialogue

被表扬了

A
你今天看起来很开心。
Nǐ jīntiān kàn qǐlái hěn kāixīn.
You look very happy today.
B
是的,我老师表扬了。
Shì de, wǒ bèi lǎoshī biǎoyáng le.
Yes, I was praised by the teacher.

被吃掉了

A
我的饼干呢?
Wǒ de bǐnggān ne?
Where are my cookies?
B
对不起,饼干小狗吃掉了。
Duìbuqǐ, bǐnggān bèi xiǎo gǒu chī diào le.
Sorry, the cookies were eaten by the puppy.

Related words and contrasts

contrast
used to shift object before verb

被 marks the doer in a passive sentence; 把 marks the object in an active sentence.

similar
ràng
let; make (causative)

让 can sometimes be used like 被 in spoken Chinese, but 被 is more formal.

Explore more words