About
The character 被 (bèi) is a phono-semantic compound. Its semantic radical 衤 (yī), related to clothing, combines with the phonetic component 皮 (pí), meaning skin or hide. The clothing radical points to its original meaning: a quilt or blanket used to cover the body. Over time, this meaning of "covering" extended into a grammatical function, leading to its common use as a marker of the passive voice in modern Chinese.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我的书被偷了。
杯子被打破了。
他被老师批评了。
昨天，钱包被小偷偷走了。
如果被发现，他会被处罚。
这个计划已经被公司批准了。
由于天气不好，比赛被推迟了。
他的建议被大家认为是合理的。