Purpose: This pattern is commonly used to express the passive voice.

Basic Structure

In a passive sentence using 被, the structure is as follows:

Subject + 被 + Agent + Verb + (Object)

The Subject is the recipient of the action, and the Agent is the one who performs the action.

• Example of active sentences (without 被):

  
  

  我打碎了杯子。 (I broke the glass

  
  

• Same example as passive sentence (using 被):

  
  

  杯子被我打碎了。 (The cup was broken by me.)
  
  杯子被打碎了。 (The cup is broken.)

  
  

No Specific Agent

Sometimes, you can use the 被 structure without specifying who performed the action. In such cases, the focus is on the result rather than the cause.

Example:

我的相机被借走了。 (My camera was borrowed.)
  
文件被删除了。 (The file was deleted.)
  
背包被偷了。 (The backpack was stolen

Complements

After the verb, you’ll often find a complement (such as 了, indicating completion) following 被.

Example:

小猫被车撞伤了。 (The kitten was hit by a car and injured.)
  
零食被我吃完了。 (Snacks were eaten by me completely

Negating 被 Sentences

To make the sentence negative, insert 没 or 没有 directly in front of 被. Note that in negative passive sentences, you cannot use 了 since the action didn’t complete.

Example:

昨天的派对我没有被邀请。 (I wasn’t invited to the party yesterday

Remember, practice makes perfect! Keep using the 被 structure to express passive voice in Chinese.