Passives & 俾 bei2 Construction

Cantonese forms passives with 俾 bei2 — the same word used for 'give' and 'let'. This is the third function of 俾 (after giving and allowing). It replaces Mandarin 被 bèi as the passive marker. The basic pattern is: Subject + 俾 + Agent + Verb: 我俾人鬧 ngo5 bei2 jan4 naau6 (I was scolded by someone) = Mandarin 我被人罵了.

Like Mandarin, Cantonese passives typically describe negative or unpleasant events — being scolded, cheated, hit, stolen from, etc. Saying 蛋糕俾佢食咗 daan6 gou1 bei2 keoi5 sik6 zo2 (the cake was eaten by him) implies annoyance. This is the same as Mandarin's preference for 被 in negative contexts.

The agent (doer) can be omitted if unknown or unimportant: 我俾人偷咗銀包 ngo5 bei2 jan4 tau1 zo2 ngan4 baau1 (my wallet was stolen — by someone). Here 人 jan4 is a generic 'someone'. You can also just say 銀包俾偷咗 ngan4 baau1 bei2 tau1 zo2 (the wallet was stolen).

An important structural note: in some Cantonese passive constructions, 俾 can be followed by the object being affected rather than the agent. This creates a double-object pattern: 我俾佢打咗一拳 ngo5 bei2 keoi5 daa2 zo2 jat1 kyun4 (I was punched by him — literally 'I bei2 him hit one punch'). The word order may feel different from Mandarin 被 patterns.

Cantonese can also use 畀...所 bei2...so2 for more formal passives, but in daily speech, plain 俾 is overwhelmingly preferred. Remember: 俾 bei2 = give + let + passive marker — three jobs, one character. Context always makes the meaning clear.