Marking a topic with "ma"

嘛 (ma) can be used for topic marking. It basically allows the speaker to state the topic, then gather his thoughts before making a comment on it. In this pattern, the following comment may or may not be one the speaker feels is obvious.

Structure

Topic + 嘛 ，Statement

Examples

• 大 熊猫嘛 ，大家 都 喜欢 。Dà xióngmāo ma, dàjiā dōu xǐhuan.Pandas. Everybody likes them.
• 名牌 嘛 ，一定 不 便宜 。Míngpái ma, yīdìng bù piányi.Brandname. It can't be cheap.
• 第 一 次 嘛 ，以后 就 会 了 。Dì-yī cì ma, yǐhòu jiù huì le.First time. You'll learn soon.
• 孩子 嘛 ，不 懂 这些 很 正常 。Háizi ma, bù dǒng zhèxiē hěn zhèngcháng.Kids. It's common that they don't understand these things .
• 老板 请客 嘛 ，当然 要 大方 。Lǎobǎn qǐngkè ma, dāngrán yào dàfang.The boss is buying. Of course I need to be generous.
• 上海 嘛 ，都是 这样 的。Shànghǎi ma, dōu shì zhèyàng de.Shanghai. It's just like that.
• 比赛 嘛 ，不 紧张 是 不 可能 的。Bǐsài ma, bù jǐnzhāng shì bù kěnéng de.Competition. It's not possible to not be nervous.
• 这 不 是 缘分 嘛 ，我们 两 个 都 喜欢 周杰伦。Zhè bù shì yuánfèn ma, wǒmen liǎng gè dōu xǐhuān Zhōu Jiélún.It's fate that we both like Jay Chou.
• 学生 嘛 ，就 应该 有 学生 的样子。Xuéshēng ma, jiù yīnggāi yǒu xuéshēng de yàngzi.Students. They're just like that.
• 开车 嘛 ，最 重要 的 是 安全。Kāichē ma, zuì zhòngyào de shì ānquán.When it comes to driving, the most important thing is safety.

See also

• Expressing the self-evident with "ma"

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5