Difference between revisions of "Softening speech with "ba""
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Note that to make suggestions for a group of people including oneself, 咱们 (zánmen) is often used with 吧 (ba).
 
Note that to make suggestions for a group of people including oneself, 咱们 (zánmen) is often used with 吧 (ba).
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==Softening speech when involves options==
 
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When 吧 (ba) is used twice in a sentence, it is used to list two options that the speaker is debating. It gives the sentence an indecisive feel, as though the speaker doesn't know which one to choose. This construction often has a negative connotation, since the options usually are not ideal.
 
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=== Structure===
 
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<div class="jiegou">
 
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Option 1 + 吧 ， Evaluation ; Option 2 + 吧 ， Evaluation
 
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</div>
 
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If this structure doesn't seem clear to you, the examples will help.
 
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===Examples===
 
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<div class="liju">
 
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* 去 上海 <em>吧</em> ， 太 远；去 北京 <em>吧</em> ， 人 太 多 。 <span class="pinyin">Qù Shànghǎi <em>bā</em>, tài yuǎnqù; Běijīng <em>bā</em>, rén tài duō.</span> <span class="trans">Going to Shanghai is too far away, going to Beijing has too many people.</span>
 
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* 冬天 去 <em>吧</em> ， 太冷；夏天 去 <em>吧</em> ， 太 热 。 <span class="pinyin">Dōngtiān qù <em>bā</em>, tàilěng; xiàtiān qù <em>bā</em>, tài rè.</span> <span class="trans">Going in the is too cold, going in the summer is too hot.</span>
 
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* 买 房 <em>吧</em> ， 没 钱；不 买 房 <em>吧</em> ， 没 老婆 。 <span class="pinyin">Mǎi fáng <em>bā</em>, méi qián; bù mǎi fáng <em>bā</em>, méi lǎopó.</span> <span class="trans">If you buy a house, you won't have money. If you don't buy a house you won't have a wife.</span>
 
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* 学 中文 <em>吧</em> ， 太 难；不 学 中文 <em>吧</em> ， 找 不 到 好 工作 。 <span class="pinyin">Xué Zhōngwén <em>bā</em>, tài nán; bù xué Zhōngwén <em>bā</em>, zhǎo bù dào hǎo gōngzuò.</span> <span class="trans">Studying Mandarin is too hard, but if you don't study Mandarin you cannot find a job.</span>
 
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* 去 学校 工作 <em>吧</em> ， 钱 太 少；去 公司 <em>吧</em> ， 太 累 。 <span class="pinyin">Qù xuéxiào gōngzuò <em>bā</em>, qián tài shǎo; qù gōngsī <em>bā</em>, tài lèi.</span> <span class="trans">Working at the school, pay is too small, but working at a company is too tiring.</span>
 
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*这 件 衣服 ， 买 <em>吧</em> ， 太 贵；不 买 <em>吧</em> ， 又 很 喜欢 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn yīfu, mǎi <em>bā</em>, tài guì; bù mǎi <em>bā</em>, yòu hěn xǐhuan.</span> <span class="trans">As for these clothes, buying them is too expensive, but if I don't buy them, I'll really want them.</span>
 
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*上班 <em>吧</em> ， 很 累；不 上班 <em>吧</em> ， 又 无聊 。 <span class="pinyin">Shǎngbān <em>bā</em>, hěn lěi; bù shàngbān <em>bā</em>, yòu wúliáo.</span> <span class="trans">Going to work? Too tiring. Not going to work? There's nothing to do.</span>
 
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*这 件 事情 ， 你 同意 <em>吧</em> ， 你 不 高兴；不 同意 <em>吧</em> ， 别人 不 高兴 。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn shìqíng, nǐ tóngyì <em>bā</em>, nǐ bù gāoxīng; bù tóngyì <em>bā</em>, biérén bù gāoxìng.</span> <span class="trans">As for this matter, if you agree, you won't be happy, if you don't agree, other people won't be happy.</span>
 
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*早 点 去 <em>吧</em> ， 需要 等；晚 点 <em>吧</em> ， 可能 迟到 。 <span class="pinyin">Zǎo diǎn qù <em>bā</em>, xūyào děng; wǎn diǎn <em>bā</em>, kěnéng chídào.</span> <span class="trans">If we go early we'll have to wait, but if we go later, we might arrive late.</span>
 
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</div>
 
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Suggestions with "ba"]]
 
*[[Suggestions with "ba"]]
 
*[[Conceding with "ba"]]
 
*[[Conceding with "ba"]]
 +
*[[Reviewing options with "ba"]]
 
*[[Verb reduplication]]
 
*[[Verb reduplication]]
  

Revision as of 01:23, 26 November 2014

The particle 吧 (ba) can be used to soften the feel of a sentence. This could be to make it more polite, gentler and less forceful, or to turn a command into a suggestion.

Softening speech

The structure of this grammar point is pretty simple:

Structure

Statement + 吧

Examples

  • 这样 不 太 好 吧 。 Zhèyàng bù tài hǎo bā. This style isn't that great.
  • 算了 吧 。 Suànle bā. Just forget it.
  • 应该 是 吧 。 Yīnggāi shì bā. It should be. [referring to some context]
  • 太少了 吧 。 Tàishǎole bā. Too little.
  • 这么 晚 了 ， 我们 不 去 了 吧 。 Zhème wǎn le, wǒmen bù qù le bā. It's too late now, we are not going.
  • 再 等 等 吧 。 Zài děng děng bā. Wait a little longer.
  • 你们 早 点 来 吧 。 Nǐmen zǎo diǎn lái bā. Come a little earlier.
  • 快 点 吧 ， 要 迟到 了 。 Kuài diǎn bā, yào chídào le. Hurry, we're going to be late.
  • 太 贵 了 吧 ， 我 不 买 了 。 Tài guì le bā, wǒ bù mǎi le. Too expensive! I'm not buying it.
  • 你们 家 太 脏 了 吧 。 Nǐmen jiā tài zāng le bā. Your house is a little too dirty.

Note that to make suggestions for a group of people including oneself, 咱们 (zánmen) is often used with 吧 (ba).

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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