Object + bị + Agent + Verb

Vietnamese distinguishes between positive and negative experiences in passive sentences. The word bị inherently carries a negative tone, implying misfortune or suffering, much like the English 'get passive' (e.g., 'got robbed'). Syntactically, it acts as a main verb meaning 'to suffer' or 'to experience', followed by the agent and the action. Importantly, the grammatical Subject is the experiencer of the adverse event. This is usually the logical Object (the receiver of the action), but it can also be the possessor of the object being acted upon (a 'Possessor Passive').

Key Rules:

• Undesirable outcomes: Use it when the experiencer suffers something negative, such as being hit, stolen from, or criticized (e.g., Tôi bị sếp mắng - I was scolded by the boss).
• Subjective perspective: While many events are objectively negative (like being injured or robbed) and universally require bị, the choice between bị and được can also depend on the speaker's subjective perspective. If a speaker views an event as negative or unwelcome, they use bị; if positive, they use được.
• Possessor passive: The subject can be the owner of the affected object (e.g., Tôi bị trộm lấy ví - I had my wallet stolen by a thief).
• Intransitive verbs: bị is frequently used with intransitive verbs (e.g., Tôi bị ngã - I fell, Tôi bị trễ - I am late) to indicate an unfortunate event happened to the subject, showing it isn't always a strict passive structure.
• No verb changes: Because Vietnamese has no verb conjugation, the action verb stays in its base form.
• Dropping the agent: If the agent is unknown or obvious, it is frequently omitted, resulting in the structure Object + bị + Verb (e.g., Tôi bị đuổi việc - I got fired).
• Direct attachment: The agent comes directly after bị in everyday speech. While the word bởi (by) is used in formal or academic writing (changing the order to Object + bị + Verb + bởi + Agent), it should be avoided in daily conversation.
• Illnesses and states: Note that bị is also commonly used directly with nouns or adjectives to indicate illnesses or negative states (e.g., Tôi bị ốm - I am sick). See bị + Noun for more details.

If the outcome is positive or welcome, use Object + được + Agent + Verb instead. For completely neutral, objective statements with an agent, Vietnamese uses the marker do (see Formal Passive With do). Alternatively, you can use the active voice with no marker at all, simply by putting the object first and dropping the agent.