被 — passive marker
passive marker: "by"
How to pronounce it
被 is read bèi. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 衤 “clothing”: its first meaning is “quilt”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “被”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 被. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 蛋糕被弟弟吃完了。dàngāobèidìdichīwánleMy little brother finished the cake.
- 这件事被经理发现了zhèjiànshìbèijīnglǐfāxiànleThe manager found out about it.
- 冬天要盖厚被子。dōngtiānyàogàihòubèiziIn winter you need a thick quilt.
- 晚上冷多盖一条被子吧wǎnshanglěng,duōgàiyìtiáobèizibaIt's cold at night, put on one more quilt.
- 杯子被他给打破了。bēizibèitāgěidǎpòleThe cup was broken by him.
- 那条街的老房子都被拆了。nàtiáojiēdelǎofángzidōubèichāileThe old houses on that street were all torn down.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “What happened and what to do”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
What does 被 mean?
被 (bèi) means “passive marker: "by"”.
How do you write 被?
被 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 被?
被 is read bèi. Tones: bèi — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“passive marker” in the lesson “What happened and what to do”
This word is from the topic “Work and business” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free