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Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 吧?
Using “吧” is an easy way to avoid placing the listener in an uncomfortable situation.
The particle “吧” is placed at the end of sentences, to either indicate what you’re saying is a suggestion and by no means a command, or simply to soften your speech, or to concede.
吧 FOR SUGGESTIONS, REQUESTS & INSTRUCTIONS
“吧” at the end of imperative sentences is to soften your suggestion, request or instruction. This makes the speaker seem less direct and bossy.
PATTERN
Command + 吧
SUGGESTIONS
This use of 吧 is very similar to how in English we would use “let’s”.
REQUESTS
INSTRUCTIONS
吧 FOR SOFTENING SPEECH
The particle “吧” is also used to soften the feel of a sentence. This is particularly useful when you need to make your sentence more polite, gentler or less forceful.
PATTERN
Statement + 吧
吧 FOR AGREEMENT & APPROVAL
“吧” can be used to show that you accept or agree to something. You may not actually want to accept or agree to it, but for some reason you make a compromise.
PATTERN
Statement + 吧
吧 FOR ESTIMATION & SUPPOSITION
“吧” (ba) can be used at the end of declarative sentences to make the tone uncertain. The tone would be affirmative when “吧” is dropped.
吧 FOR CONSENT & CONFIRMATION
“吧” (ba) can also be put at the end of questions to ask for consent or confirmation with what is being, indicating both questioning and guessing, when the speaker has a certain estimation about something but he is not sure.
PATTERN
Sentence + 吧 ?
NOTE || Sometimes, “吧” (ba) in a question usually shows that you’re expecting a positive answer.
吧 IN TAG QUESTIONS
“吧” can be used to form question tags, asking for consent, permission or confirmation.
The common expressions include “是吧 (shì ba)”, “好吧 (hǎo ba)”, “对吧 (duì ba)”, “行吧 (xíng ba)”, “可以吧 (kěyǐ ba)”, etc.
PATTERN
Sentence + 是吧 / 好吧 / 对吧 / 行吧 / 可以吧?
吧 IN THE MIDDLE OF SENTENCES
Sometimes 吧 can be placed in the middle of a sentence to make a pause, indicating assumption or citing or concession.
ASSUMPTION
|
这件事我跟她说吧，不好；不跟她说吧，也不好。
zhè jiàn shì wǒ gēn tā shuō ba, bù hǎo; bù gēn tā shuō ba, yě bù hǎo. I’ll tell her about this, it’s not good; not telling her, it’s not good either. |
CITING
|
就拿我自己说吧，我也是一步一步才走到今天的。
jiù ná wǒ zìjǐ shuō ba, wǒ yěshì yībù yībù cái zǒu dào jīntiān de. Let me just say it, I also got here step by step. |
CONCESSION
|
就算你有理吧，也不能随便打人呀。
jiùsuàn nǐ yǒulǐ ba, yě bùnéng suíbiàn dǎ rén ya. Even if you are reasonable, you can’t hit people casually. |
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FAQS
What is 吧?
吧 is one of the most common sentence particles in Chinese.
It is placed at the end of sentences, to either indicate what you’re saying is a suggestion and by no mean a command, or simply to soften your speech, or to concede.
How to use 吧?
Some sentence structures with 吧:
Command + 吧
Statement + 吧
Sentence + 吧 + ?
It is also used in question tags:
Sentence + 是吧/好吧/对吧/行吧/ 可以吧?
How is 吧 pronounced?
吧 is pronounced ‘ba‘ and doesn’t have a tone.
What are some examples with 吧?
我们走吧。wǒmen zǒu ba. | Let’s go.
给我两个吧。gěi wǒ liǎng gè ba. | Give me two.
算了吧。suànle ba. | Forget it.
行吧，我答应你。 xíng ba, wǒ dāyìng nǐ. | Okay, I promise you.
你是王阿姨吧？ nǐ shì wáng āyí ba? | Are you Aunt Wang?
What some other particles should I learn?
One of the most basic yet important Chinese particle to learn at the beginning of your studies is the particle of possession: 的 de.
You will see it in a lot of sentences, which make sense since its THE most common character of the Chinese language!
Do you have other articles like this one?
Yes we do!
You can have a look at our Chinese Grammar Bank for more articles like this one.
A few examples of what you’ll find:
How to use 不 in Chinese – The Chinese Negative Form
How to use 的 in Chinese – The Possessive Particle
How to use 还是 and 或者 – ‘Or’ in Chinese
How to use 不 and 没 – The differences between the two negation words