被迫
bèipò · HSK 4
be forced
⛓️ 被 = passive marker + 迫 = compel; together: be compelled
被 marks the passive voice (something done to you), and 迫 means to press or compel. Combined, 被迫 literally reads as 'be-compelled' — forced into an action against your will.
被 — clothes radical 衤 + 皮 (skin/hide)
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 衤 (clothing) gives the meaning 'blanket/quilt', while 皮 supplies the sound. From 'covering' it extended to 'cover oneself with', then grammaticalized into the passive marker 'by', its most common modern use.