被 (bèi): by (passive voice marker)

Meanings

1 by (passive voice marker)
2 quilt; blanket

Characters

被

bèi

by (passive marker); quilt; cover

Contains 衤 (clothing radical) — originally meant 'quilt/blanket'.

Examples

他被老师批评了。

Tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le.

He was criticized by the teacher.

蛋糕被吃了。

Dàngāo bèi chī le.

The cake was eaten.

我的手机被偷了。

Wǒ de shǒujī bèi tōu le.

My phone was stolen.

Tips

grammar

被 is the main passive marker. Structure: Subject + 被 + (Agent) + Verb. It is often used for unpleasant or undesirable events.

usage

In internet slang, 被 creates humorous passives: 被加班 (forced to work overtime), 被自愿 (was 'volunteered'). This highlights the involuntary nature.

Components

radical

衤 yī

clothing (left-side form of 衣)

Clothing radical on the left — the left-side form of 衣. 被 originally meant 'a quilted cover, a blanket' (cloth that covers the body), and from 'covered by' developed into the modern passive marker. Same radical heads 衫 shirt, 裙 skirt, 袋 bag, 袖 sleeve — the textile family.

phonetic

皮 pí

skin; hide

Right side 皮 supplies the sound: pí → bèi with the regular Old Chinese p/b alternation. Carries faint semantic weight — a 被 covers the body like a second 皮 (skin). Same phonetic also gives 披 (drape over), 破 (break), 波 (wave) — a wide labial family.