让/叫 Alternative Passive

In a normal sentence, the person doing the action comes first. "The cat ate the fish." In a passive sentence, the fish comes first. The fish is the star of the show. Why? Because something happened to it! When you use 让 or 叫, you are pointing at the object. You are saying, "Hey, look at this fish! It was eaten!" The words 让 and 叫 act like the word "by" in English. They connect the object to the person who did the deed. It is like a bridge. On one side is the thing that changed. On the other side is the person or thing that caused the change. It feels very active even though it is passive. It adds a bit of flavor to your speech. It makes your stories feel more alive. It is like adding spice to your favorite dish. Without it, your Chinese might sound a bit like a textbook.

1. 1Building this sentence is like building a sandwich. You need the right layers in the right order. Follow these steps:
2. 2Start with the Receiver. This is the thing or person affected.
3. 3Add the marker 让 or 叫. Both work almost the same way.
4. 4Add the Doer. This is the person or thing that performed the action.
5. 5Add the Verb. This is the action itself.
6. 6Add a Result or Completion. Usually, this is 了 (le) or a resultative complement.
7. 7Example: 我的手机 (Receiver) + 让 (Marker) + 他 (Doer) + 拿走了 (Verb + Result).
8. 8Full sentence: 我的手机让他拿走了。 (My phone was taken by him.)

Use this pattern in casual conversations. It is perfect for when things go wrong. Did someone take your seat at the cinema? Use 让. Did the wind blow your hat away? Use 叫. It is very common in spoken Mandarin. You will hear it at the dinner table. You will hear it when friends complain about their bosses. It is also great for "accidental" situations. If you accidentally broke a vase, you might say it "let" itself be broken by you. It softens the blow a little bit. Use it when you want to sound like a local. It shows you understand the rhythm of the language. It is much more common than 被 in southern China. If you are in Shanghai or Guangzhou, 让 is your best friend. In the north, like Beijing, people love using 叫.

Do not use this in formal writing. If you are writing a business report, stick to 被. If you are writing a legal contract, definitely avoid 让. It sounds too "chatty." Also, here is a golden rule. You MUST include the doer. In English, you can say "The window was broken." You do not have to say who did it. In Chinese, if you use 让 or 叫, you cannot leave the doer out. You cannot just say 窗户让破了. That is a big no-no. You must say 窗户让风吹破了 (The window was blown broken by the wind). If you do not know who did it, use 被 instead. Think of 让 and 叫 as gossip markers. Gossip always needs a subject! Do not use them for very formal or scientific facts either. Gravity does not "let" things fall in a textbook.

The biggest mistake is forgetting the doer. As mentioned, 让 and 叫 are social words. They need two parties to work. Another mistake is forgetting the result. A passive sentence in Chinese feels unfinished without a result. You cannot just say 我的书让他看. It sounds like you are giving him permission to read. You should say 我的书让他看了. That small 了 makes a huge difference. It confirms the action actually happened. Also, watch out for the word order. Do not put the doer at the beginning. If you say 他让我的书看了, you are saying "He let my book read." That makes no sense! Unless your book is sentient and has eyes. Always put the "victim" first.

How do these compare to 被? Think of 被 as the serious older brother. He is formal and a bit stiff. 让 and 叫 are the younger, fun siblings. They are used for the same thing but in different rooms. 让 can also mean "to let" or "to allow." This can be confusing. For example, 妈妈让我吃饭 means "Mom lets me eat." But 饭让妈妈吃了 means "The food was eaten by Mom." Context is your best guide here. If the first word is an object (like food), it is passive. If the first word is a person (like Mom), it is usually a command. 叫 also means "to call" or "to order." 我叫他去 means "I told him to go." But 钱叫他偷了 means "The money was stolen by him." It is all about who is at the front of the line.