被 + Verb + Complement

In a normal sentence, the doer comes first. "I ate the apple." In a 被 sentence, the apple comes first. The structure follows a very specific path. You start with the receiver of the action. Then you add 被. After that, you can name the person who did it. Finally, you add the verb and a complement. The complement is the most important part. In Chinese, a 被 sentence feels "naked" without a result. You cannot just say "The apple was eaten." You must say "The apple was eaten up." It sounds like a complete story. It tells us exactly what happened to the object.

1. 1Building this sentence is like building a sandwich. Follow these steps:
2. 2Start with the Receiver (The thing affected).
3. 3Add the word 被 (The passive marker).
4. 4Add the Doer (The person or thing that acted). Note: This is optional!
5. 5Add your Verb (The action).
6. 6Add a Complement (The result or change).
7. 7Example: 我的手机 (Receiver) + 被 + 他 (Doer) + 拿 (Verb) + 走了 (Complement).
8. 8Translation: "My phone was taken away by him."

Use this pattern when you want to sound like a native speaker in these scenarios:

• Bad News: When something is lost, broken, or stolen. 我的自行车被偷了 (My bike was stolen).
• Emphasis: When the object is more important than the person. Imagine you are at a job interview. You want to say your project was finished early.
• Unknown Doers: When you don't know who did it. "My window was broken!" You don't know who threw the rock.
• Avoiding Blame: When you want to sound polite. Instead of saying "You broke my vase," you say "The vase was broken."
• Result-Oriented: When the final state of the object is the main point of your story.

Do not use 被 for everything! English uses passive voice way more than Chinese does.

• Positive Events: Usually, we don't use 被 for happy things like "I was given a gift." We prefer active voice there.
• Natural States: Don't use it for things that just happen naturally. "The sun rose" is never passive.
• Simple Actions: If there is no result or change, 被 feels weird. "I am seen by him" sounds like a robot talking.
• Formal Writing: Sometimes, Chinese uses other words like 受 (shòu) for formal passive, but 被 is the king of daily life.

Even native speakers might slip up, but you can avoid these traps:

• The Naked Verb: This is the biggest mistake. Never end the sentence with just a verb. You need 了, 完, or a direction.
• Wrong Negation: If you want to say "It wasn't eaten," put 没 or 没有 before 被. Do not put it before the verb.
• Adding "By": Don't try to translate the English word "by" literally. 被 already does that job for you.
• Word Order: Don't put the doer at the start. The victim always gets the first seat in this grammar theater.
• Overuse: Don't use it for every sentence. If the active voice works, use it. Keep 被 for when it really matters.

You might know the 把 (bǎ) structure. They are like two sides of a coin.

• 把 focuses on what the doer did to the object. "I put the book away."
• 被 focuses on what happened to the object. "The book was put away."

Think of 把 as the "Action" movie and 被 as the "Drama" movie.

Also, compare it to simple sentences. 苹果吃了 (The apple is eaten) is okay in casual talk. But 苹果被吃了 adds a sense of "Oh no, someone ate my apple!"