diff --git a/sdks/python/apache_beam/io/gcp/bigquery_test.py b/sdks/python/apache_beam/io/gcp/bigquery_test.py
index 05bb1cdac4a8..684735bfbe22 100644
--- a/sdks/python/apache_beam/io/gcp/bigquery_test.py
+++ b/sdks/python/apache_beam/io/gcp/bigquery_test.py
@@ -967,7 +967,7 @@ def test_to_from_runner_api(self):
         schema=schema)
 
     # pylint: disable=expression-not-assigned
-    p | 'MyWriteToBigQuery' >> original
+    p | beam.Create([]) | 'MyWriteToBigQuery' >> original
 
     # Run the pipeline through to generate a pipeline proto from an empty
     # context. This ensures that the serialization code ran.
diff --git a/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline.py b/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline.py
index c011732f9352..022b7effcd0d 100644
--- a/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline.py
+++ b/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline.py
@@ -797,6 +797,11 @@ def apply(
       type_options = self._options.view_as(TypeOptions)
       if type_options.pipeline_type_check:
         transform.type_check_inputs(pvalueish)
+      if isinstance(pvalueish, pvalue.PBegin) and isinstance(transform, ParDo):
+        full_label = self._current_transform().full_label
+        raise TypeCheckError(
+            f"Transform '{full_label}' expects a PCollection as input. "
+            "Got a PBegin/Pipeline instead.")
 
       pvalueish_result = self.runner.apply(transform, pvalueish, self._options)
 
diff --git a/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline_test.py b/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline_test.py
index b18bc0d668e2..20aebdd7790f 100644
--- a/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline_test.py
+++ b/sdks/python/apache_beam/pipeline_test.py
@@ -702,6 +702,23 @@ def test_track_pcoll_unbounded_flatten(self):
     self.assertIs(pcoll2_unbounded.is_bounded, False)
     self.assertIs(merged.is_bounded, False)
 
+  def test_incompatible_pcollection_errmsg(self):
+    with pytest.raises(Exception,
+                       match=r".*Map\(print\).*Got a PBegin/Pipeline instead."):
+      with beam.Pipeline() as pipeline:
+        _ = (pipeline | beam.Map(print))
+
+    class ParentTransform(PTransform):
+      def expand(self, pcoll):
+        return pcoll | beam.Map(print)
+
+    with pytest.raises(
+        Exception,
+        match=r".*ParentTransform/Map\(print\).*Got a PBegin/Pipeline instead."
+    ):
+      with beam.Pipeline() as pipeline:
+        _ = (pipeline | ParentTransform())
+
   def test_incompatible_submission_and_runtime_envs_fail_pipeline(self):
     with mock.patch(
         'apache_beam.transforms.environments.sdk_base_version_capability'