被

bèi

HSK 3

被 — bèi

1. quilt; blanket

   晚上冷，请把被盖好。 wǎnshàng lěng qǐng bǎ bèi gài hǎo — It's cold at night; please cover yourself with the quilt.

2. to cover (with)

   山顶被白雪覆盖。 shāndǐng bèi báixuě fùgài — The mountaintop is covered with snow.

3. (literary) to suffer (a misfortune)

   那一年百姓被水灾所苦，颗粒无收。 nà yīnián bǎixìng bèi shuǐzāi suǒ kǔ kēlìwúshōu — That year the people suffered from floods and had no harvest at all.

4. marker indicating passive voice (placed before the agent like 'by' or before the verb if agent omitted)

   他的手机被偷了。 tā de shǒujī bèi tōu le — His phone was stolen.

5. (since c.2009) jocular/sarcastic marker indicating air quotes (e.g. 'to "go on a trip"')

   他昨天被加班，心里很无奈。 tā zuótiān bèi jiābān xīnlǐ hěn wúnài — He was 'made to' work overtime yesterday — quite resigned.