Cantonese · 12 October 2026 · Passive and Disposal Constructions
比人
bei2 jan4Jyutping
by someone / by people (passive marker)
phrase
The standard colloquial Cantonese passive agent placeholder, combining '比' with '人' to denote that an action was committed by an unspecified person or others.
In a sentence
你放工之後喺公司四圍搬弄是非，遲早會比人傳返去經理耳邊，到時實被照肺。
nei5 fong3 gung1 zi1 hau6 hai2 gung1 si1 sei3 wai4 bun1 lung6 si6 fei1, ci4 zou2 wui5 bei2 jan4 cyun4 faan1 heoi3 ging1 lei5 ji5 bin1, dou3 si4 sat6 bei2 ziu1 fai3.
If you go around gossiping in the office after hours, it'll be passed back to the manager's ears by someone sooner or later, and you'll definitely get chewed out then.
