Difference between revisions of "Expressing the self-evident with "ma""
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* 女孩子 <em>嘛</em>，害怕。 | * 女孩子 <em>嘛</em>，害怕。 | ||
| − | * 男人 <em>嘛</em> | + | * 男人 <em>嘛</em>，总是要喝啤酒。 |
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Revision as of 06:27, 22 January 2012
The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple "yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma) you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).
The structure is:
Statement + 嘛
Some examples:
- 你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 嘛。
- 中国 人口 很 多 嘛。
- 美国人 很 开放 嘛。
An alternate form is:
Topic + 嘛, + Statement
Some examples:
- 女孩子 嘛，害怕。
- 男人 嘛，总是要喝啤酒。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (p. 225) →buy →买
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (Lesson 11) →buy
- Intermediate Chinese - A Grammar and Workbook (Unit 23) →buy
