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bị

Level ≈A1 (approx.) verbnoun Sino-Vietnamese Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [ʔɓi˧˨ʔ]Huế [ʔɓɪj˨˩ʔ]Saigon [ʔɓɪj˨˩˨] browser voice
Syllables · tones
bịheavynặng

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

bị means (passive marker: to suffer, undergo).

Chinese characters: 被

Meanings of bị in English

Verb

  1. before a verb to be (used to form the passive voice if the subject is negatively affected by the action)
    • bị đánhto be beaten
  2. particle denoting the subject is negatively affected by the predicate
    • bị đột quỵto suffer a stroke

Noun

  1. big sack made from sedge
  2. Southern Vietnam plastic bag

Words with bị

bị gậybị thịtbị canbị cáobị độngbị hạibị cảmbị chúbị đơn

Idioms and sayings with bị

Example sentences with bị

  • Tôi ở nhà vì tôi bị ốm. I stayed home because I was sick.
  • Có vẻ như là tôi bị sốt. I seem to have a fever.
  • Anh ấy đã bị ướt vì mưa. He got wet from the rain.
  • Bạn ấy nghỉ học vì bị ốm. She was absent from school because of sickness.
  • Các cửa sổ đã bị bít lại. The windows were boarded up.
  • Anh ấy bị bạn tù đầu độc. He was poisoned by his cellmate.
  • Cô ấy đã bị bỏng tay trái. She got her left hand burned.
  • Bà ấy đã bị bỏng tay trái. She burned her left hand.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Usage note: bị

bị marks the passive for things that happen to you against your will — accidents, illnesses, bad experiences. For pleasant things, Vietnamese use được.

  • Tôi bị mất ví. — I lost my wallet. (literally "suffered losing")
  • Anh ấy bị ốm. — He's sick.
  • Cô ấy bị mắng. — She got scolded.
  • Xe tôi bị hỏng. — My motorbike broke down.

Compare: Tôi được mời. — I was invited (nice). Tôi bị phạt. — I was fined (not nice).

English does not mark this difference, so learners often pick the wrong one. Mix them up and the meaning becomes ironic: Tôi bị tăng lương sounds as if a pay rise were a misfortune.

Useful at a pharmacy or doctor: Tôi bị đau đầu. — I have a headache. Tôi bị sốt. — I have a fever. Tôi bị dị ứng tôm. — I'm allergic to shrimp.

✗ Tôi được cảm. → ✓ Tôi bị cảm. — I've caught a cold.

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 被 (“to cover, to pack; "by" (passive voice)”).

Frequently asked questions

What does bị mean in English?

bị (verb) means "(passive marker: to suffer, undergo)".

How do you pronounce bị?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɓi˧˨ʔ]; Saigon [ʔɓɪj˨˩˨]. Tones: bị — heavy tone (nặng).

Is bị a Sino-Vietnamese word?

Yes. bị is a Sino-Vietnamese word from the Chinese characters 被.

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.