In Mandarin Chinese, the passive voice is formed with 被 transcribed bèimeaning by , as well as 叫 transcribed jiào and 让 transcribed ràng, which indicate the agent that carries out the action. That’s why it is also known as the “被 transcribed bèi structure.” Like in English, use the passive voice when you want to place emphasis on the receiver of the action and the action itself rather than on who did it. An English example would be:
The email has been sent (by the boss).
That said, passive voice sentences are more commonly used among Mandarin native speakers than in English.
In this post, you will find out how to form the passive voice 被 transcribed bèi structure in various situations in affirmative and in negative sentences. We will also discuss what to do when there is no agent i.e. no “by X” phrase, as well as how passive voice sentences are formed with modal / mental verbs. Let’s dive in!
How to use the 被 (bèi) structure in affirmative sentences in Mandarin Chinese?
Let’s start by having a quick look at the most common sentence pattern in Mandarin: the “subject + verb + object” structure, which focuses on who does what. Look at the example below:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
|---|---|---|
我 Transcription: wǒ Translation: I | 吃了 Transcription: chī le Translation: ate | 那个苹果。 Transcription: nàge píngguǒ. Translation: that apple. |
What if you want to focus on what happened to that apple and how it happened? You will say this:
You probably noticed that in switching from the “subject + verb + object” structure to a passive sentence, a few changes have happened:
The object 那个苹果 transcribed nàge píngguǒmeaning that apple of the “subject + verb + object” structure is used as the subject in the passive sentence. The subject 我 transcribed wǒmeaning I in the “subject + verb + object” structure is used as an agent (“by me”) in the passive sentence.
The passive voice markers 被 transcribed bèimeaning by / 叫 transcribed jiàomeaning by / 让 transcribed ràngmeaning by are used after the subject 那个苹果 transcribed nàge píngguǒmeaning that apple and before the verb 吃 transcribed chīmeaning to eat . 被 transcribed bèi/ 叫 transcribed jiào / 让 transcribed ràng are interchangeable in this passive sentence. They are interchangeable most of the time, but 被 transcribed bèi and 让 transcribed ràng tend to be formal; 叫 transcribed jiào, on the other hand, tends to be informal.
Since the 被 transcribed bèi structure focuses on what has happened, it requires an aspect marker (like了 transcribed le (le) in this example) or a combination of a complement and the aspect marker (complement + aspect marker 了 transcribed le) after the verb. If you omit the aspect marker, the verb is left “naked” and the sentence is not complete.
X meaning 那个苹果被 (bèi) / 叫 (jiào) / 让 (ràng)我吃.O meaning 那个苹果被 (bèi) / 叫 (jiào) / 让 (ràng)我吃了.
Here is the basic 被 transcribed bèi structure:
| Subject | 被 (bèi) / 叫(jiào) / 让 (ràng) | Agent | Verb | Aspect marker/complement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
大树 Translation: Dàshù | 被 / 叫 / 让 Transcription: bèi/jiào/ràng Translation: by | 大风 Translation: dàfēng | 刮 Translation: guā | 倒了 。 Translation: dǎo le. | The big tree was blown down by the heavy wind. |
我们 Transcription: Wǒmen Translation: We | 被 / 叫 / 让 Transcription: bèi/jiào/ràng Translation: by | 林老师 Transcription: lín lǎoshī Translation: Teacher Lin | 批评 Transcription: pīpíng Translation: criticize | 了。 Translation: le. | We were criticized by Teacher Lin. |
Please note: The complement in the 被 transcribed bèi structure is important, because it is used to emphasize what and how an action is done. There are many different kinds of common complements we can use, for example, showing the result of an action (like 刮倒 transcribed guā dǎomeaning blow down in the example above), times (how long, how many times, how often…), locations (to where, from where…), and degrees.
How to use the 被 (bèi) structure in negative sentences in Mandarin Chinese?
For the negation, we place the negative adverbs 没 transcribed méi and 别 transcribed bié before the passive voice markers 被 transcribed bèi / 叫 transcribed jiào / 让 transcribed ràng. Keep reading and find out some differences between when to use 没 transcribed méi and when to use 别 transcribed bié.
When to use the 被 (bèi) structure with 没 (méi) in negative sentences?
When negative adverb没 transcribed méi is used in the negation, it means “not yet.” Often, there is no need to add the aspect marker 了 transcribed le in the end of the sentence to indicate the completion of the action. Instead, a verb complement is often used. Moreover, the passive voice marker 被 transcribed bèi is the most commonly used in this negation with 没 transcribed méi. Look at the examples below:
| Subject | Negative adverbs | 被 (bèi) | Agent | Verb | Complement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
我的钱包 Translation: Wǒde qiánbāo | 没 Translation: méi | 被 Translation: bèi | 小偷 Translation: xiǎotōu | 偷 Translation: tōu | 走 。 Translation: dǎo le. | My wallet has not been stolen by the thief. |
饼干 Translation: Bǐnggān | 没 Translation: méi | 被 Translation: bèi | 我 Translation: wǒ | 吃 Translation: chī | 完。 Translation: wán. | The cookies have not been eaten up by me. |
电脑 Translation: Diànnǎo | 没 Translation: méi | 被 Translation: bèi | 他 Translation: tā | 修 Translation: xiū | 好吗？ Translation: hǎoma? | Has not the computer been fixed by him? |
How to use the 被 (bèi) structure with 别 (bié) in negative sentences?
The negative adverb 别 transcribed bié can also be used in negation to indicate “do not let… happen.” It indicates a suggestion or a request. Now, do you know that the passive voice markers 叫 transcribed jiào and 让 transcribed ràng literally mean “to call” and “to let” respectively? Because of that, 叫 transcribed jiào and 让 transcribed ràng are more frequently used than 被 transcribed bèi in the negation with 别 transcribed bié.
| Subject | Negative adverbs | 叫 (jiào) / 让 (ràng) | Agent | Verb | Aspect marker / Complement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
钱包 Translation: Qiánbāo | 别 Translation: bèi | 叫 / 让 Translation: jiào/ràng | 小偷 Translation: xiǎotōu | 偷 Translation: tōu | 了。 Translation: le. | Don’t let the thief steal the wallet. Translation: Translation Literally: Don’t let the wallet be stolen by the thief. |
剩菜 Translation: Shèngcài | 别 Translation: bèi | 叫 / 让 Translation: jiào/ràng | 他 Translation: tā | 扔 Translation: rēng | 了。 Translation: le. | Don’t let him throw away the leftovers. Translation: Translation Literally: Don’t let the leftovers be thrown away. |
你 Translation: Nǐ | 别 Translation: bèi | 被 Translation: bèi | 他 Translation: tā | 骗 Translation: piàn | 了。 Translation: le. | Don't let him fool you. Translation: Translation Literally: Don't let you be fooled by him. |
How to use the 被 (bèi) structure without an agent in Mandarin Chinese?
As with passive sentences in English, the agent (by whom or by what) can be omitted in Mandarin Chinese when we do not know or want to emphasize by whom or by what something happened, or when the context is too sensitive to mention the agent. Unlike in English, however, when the agent is omitted in Mandarin Chinese, the passive voice marker stays. In this case, 被 transcribed bèi is the only one that can be used. 叫 transcribed jiàomeaning by / 让 transcribed ràngmeaning by cannot be used without the agent.
| Subject | Negation | 被 (bèi) | Verb | Aspect marker/Complement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
我 Translation: Wǒ | 没 Translation: méi | 被 Translation: bèi | 罚写 Translation: fá xiě | 100 遍。 Translation: yìbǎi biàn. | I was not punished for writing 100 times. |
坏人 Translation: Huài rén | 叫 / 让 Translation: jiào/ràng | 抓 Translation: zhuā | 到了。 Translation: dào le. | The bad guy was caught. |
How to use the 被(bèi) structure with modal / mental verbs in Mandarin Chinese?
Modal verbs or mental words in Mandarin Chinese, such as 想 transcribed xiǎngmeaning want to , 愿意 transcribed yuànyìmeaning be willing to, 能 transcribed néngmeaning can, 可以 transcribed kěyǐmeaning be allowed to, or 该 transcribed gāimeaning should are also used with the 被 transcribed bèi structure often, and they should go before the passive voice markers 被 transcribed bèi /叫 transcribed jiào/ 让 transcribed ràng.
Please pay attention, the negation of modal / mental verbs is 不 transcribed bù and not 没 transcribed méi or 别 transcribed bié.
| Subject | Negative adverbs | Modal/mental verb | 被 (bèi) / 叫(jiào) / 让 (ràng) | Agent | Verb | Aspect | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
我 Translation: Wǒ | 不 Translation: bù | 想 Translation: xiǎng | 被 /叫 / 让 Translation: bèi/jiào/ràng | 爸爸妈妈 Translation: bàba māma | 骂。 Translation: mà. | I don’t want to be scolded by mom and dad. | |
你 Translation: Nǐ | 该 Translation: gāi | 被 /叫 / 让 Translation: bèi/jiào/ràng | 老板 Translation: lǎobǎn | 开除 Translation: kāichú | 掉。 Translation: diào. | You should be fired by the boss. |
Have you noticed that in the examples above, the aspect marker 了 transcribed le is not used? When a modal/mental verb is added in the 被 transcribed bèi structure, we don’t use the aspect marker 了 transcribed le simply because there is no change of state or a completion of an action. But, a verb complement can be added after the verb, like 开除掉 transcribed kāichú diàomeaning fire away in the last sentence above.
However, keep in mind that the passive voice sentence should still make sense. So, in the case of mental verbs, if the subject of the passive voice is something inanimate, meaning it cannot think or love or hate, the sentence won’t make sense. Check this one out:
Dinners do not have will!
To sum up
In this post we discussed:
How to form a passive sentence with the markers 被 transcribed bèi/ 叫 transcribed jiào/让 transcribed ràng
How to form negative sentences in passive voice
What to do when the agent is omitted
How to form passive voice sentences with modal / mental verbs
Below is a summative table:
| Subject | (Negation) | (Modal verb) | 被 (bèi) / 叫 (jiào) / 让 (ràng) | (Agent) | Verb | Aspect marker / complement | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
车 Translation: Chē | 被 / 叫 / 让 Translation: bèi/jiào/ràng | 爸爸 Translation: bàba | 开 Translation: kāi | 回家了。 Translation: huíjiā le. | The car was driven home by dad. | ||
电脑 Translation: Diànnǎo | 没 Translation: méi | 被 Translation: bèi | 修 Translation: xiū | 好。 Translation: hǎo. | The computer has not been fixed. | ||
他 Translation: Tā | 不 Translation: bù | 应该 Translation: yīnggāi | 被 Translation: bèi | 老板 Translation: lǎobǎn | 开除 Translation: kāichú | 掉 Translation: diào. | He should not be fired by the boss. |
你 Translation: Nǐ | 别 Translation: bié | 被 Translation: bèi | 他 Translation: tā | 骗 Translation: piàn | 了。 Translation: le | Don't let him fool you. Don't let you be fooled by him. |
Another structure that gives emphasis on the object of the sentence is the 把 (bǎ) structure. Check out our post to see the differences between this structure and the passive voice structure.
But if you feel ready to try out some exercises to practice the passive voice structure in Mandarin Chinese, feel free to do so!
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