The verb "to give," the coverb that marks who receives or benefits ("for" and "to"), and even a casual passive marker. One character, several jobs, all built on directing something toward someone.
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概述gàishùOverview — One Word, Several Roles
语法核心 yǔfǎ héxīn · Grammatical Core
给 gěi means, at its heart, to direct something toward a person. From that idea it takes on several grammatical roles. As a main verb it means "to give" and takes two objects (给我一本书). As a coverb it introduces the recipient or beneficiary of an action, "to" or "for" someone, sitting before the main verb (我给你打电话). It also attaches to other verbs to mark a transfer (送给 give to), and in casual speech it can even mark the passive, like 被.
Holding these together as one family of "giving toward" makes the word coherent rather than a list of unrelated uses. The main thing to watch is position. When 给 introduces who benefits before the action, it comes before the verb (给你做饭). When it marks where something ends up after a transfer verb, it attaches after the verb (送给你). Get the position right and 给 becomes one of the most useful function words you have.
动词dòngcíThe Verb 给 — To Give
给 as main verb · the double-object patternSubject + 给 + Recipient + Thing , 我给你一本书 · I give you a book Subject + 给 + Recipient + Thing , 请给我一杯水 · Please give me a glass of water Negative: 不给 / 没给 , 他没给我钱 · He didn't give me money
给gěito give
V 动词 dòngcí
As a full verb, 给 takes two objects in the order recipient + thing: 给 + 谁 + 什么. This double-object structure is shared by a small set of transfer verbs. Negate with 不 (won't give) or 没 (didn't give). The recipient always comes before the thing given.
妈妈给了我一些钱。
Māma gěi le wǒ yìxiē qián.
Mom gave me some money.
请给我看看。
Qǐng gěi wǒ kànkan.
Please let me have a look.
介词jiècíThe Recipient Coverb — For / To Someone
给 as coverb · Subject + 给 + Person + VerbSubject + 给 + Person + Verb , 我给你打电话 · I'll call you Subject + 给 + Person + Verb + Object , 他给我们做饭 · He cooks for us Negative: 别给他打电话 · Don't call him
给gěifor; to (marking the recipient/beneficiary)
COV 介词 jiècí
As a coverb, 给 introduces the person who receives or benefits from the action, and it comes before the main verb: Subject + 给 + person + Verb. This covers English "call you," "cook for us," "write to me," and so on. The recipient sits with 给, before the verb that does the action.
给 also attaches directly after certain transfer verbs to mark where the thing ends up, the recipient: V给 + recipient. The most common are 送给 (give as a gift to), 还给 (return to), 交给 (hand over to), 卖给 (sell to), 借给 (lend to), and 寄给 (mail to). So "give this book to him as a gift" is 把这本书送给他, and "return the money to me" is 把钱还给我.
The contrast with the coverb is positional. Before the verb, 给 marks who benefits from an action that is not itself a transfer: 给你做饭 (cook for you). After a transfer verb, 给 marks the destination of the thing transferred: 送给你 (give to you). With these attached forms, the 把 construction is often used to front the object: 把礼物送给她 (give the gift to her). Learning the common V给 verbs as set units saves a lot of guesswork.
In casual spoken Chinese, 给 can mark the passive, much like 被 bèi. The pattern is Subject (the thing affected) + (给) + agent + 给 + Verb, though in practice a simple 给 + verb is common: 我的自行车给偷了 ("my bike got stolen"), 杯子给打破了 ("the cup got broken"). With an explicit doer, 给 can follow 被 for emphasis: 我被他给骗了 ("I was tricked by him").
This passive 给 is informal and belongs to everyday speech; in writing or formal contexts, 被 is the standard choice. It tends to appear with unfortunate or unwanted outcomes (things lost, broken, stolen), the same adversative flavour that 被 often carries. For the full treatment of the passive, see the dedicated 被 entry; here it is enough to recognise that a stray 给 before a verb, with no recipient in sight, is very likely marking the passive.
相关xiāngguānRelated
Related entries — pages and vocabulary in the neighbourhood of this one
给 gěi primarily means 'to give.' As a verb it takes two objects: 给我一本书 ('give me a book'). It also works as a coverb meaning 'to' or 'for' a recipient or beneficiary, placed before the main verb: 我给你打电话 ('I'll call you', literally 'I to-you make a call'). In casual speech it can even mark the passive. All these uses flow from the core idea of directing something toward someone.
How do you use 给 to mean 'for' someone?
Use the coverb pattern: Subject + 给 + person + Verb. For example, 我给你做饭 ('I'll cook for you'), 他给我们唱歌 ('he sings for us'). Here 给 introduces the person who benefits from or receives the action, and it comes before the main verb. This is one of the most common ways to express doing something for someone in Mandarin.
How does the double-object pattern with 给 work?
给 can take two objects directly: 给 + recipient + thing, as in 给我一杯水 ('give me a glass of water') or 老师给学生作业 ('the teacher gives the students homework'). The recipient comes first, then the thing given. Many giving-type verbs (送 give as a gift, 教 teach, 告诉 tell) share this double-object behaviour, and 给 can also be attached to them: 送给我 (give to me as a gift).
Can 给 mark the passive in Chinese?
Yes, in colloquial speech. 给 can act like 被 bèi to mark the passive: 我的手机给偷了 ('my phone got stolen'), or with an agent, 杯子给他打破了 ('the cup was broken by him'). This usage is informal and common in everyday spoken Chinese, often interchangeable with 被. In formal writing, 被 is preferred.