Conceding with "ba"

The particle 吧 (ba) can also be used to concede a point. That is, 吧 (ba) can be used to accept or agree with something that you're not particularly happy about, the way we might use "all right" or "fine then" in English.

Structure

Similar to other uses of 吧 (ba), this usage is also simply placed on the end of a sentence or statement.

Statement + 吧

Examples

• 好 吧 。 Hǎo bā. (This is the most common usage.) Alright.
• 那 好 吧 。 Nà hǎo bā. That's fine.
• 我 想 应该 可以 吧 。 Wǒ xiǎng yīnggāi kěyǐ bā. (This infers that there is a previous suggestion or question) I think it should be OK.
• 好 吧 ， 我们 试 试 吧 。 Hǎo bā, wǒmen shì shì bā. All right, let's give it a try.
• 你 不 去 ？ 好 吧 ， 我 一 个 人 去 。 Nǐ bù qù? Hǎo bā, wǒ yī gè rén qù. You're not going? Fine, then I'll go alone.
• 好 吧 ， 那 不 买 了 。 Hǎo bā, nà bù mǎi le. Fine, then I won't buy it.
• 好 吧 ， 出去 吃 饭 。 Hǎo bā, chūqù chī fàn. All right, we'll go out to eat.
• 不 饿 ？ 好 吧 ， 那 你 少 吃 点 。 Bù è? Hǎo bā, nà nǐ shǎo chī diǎn. You're not hungry? OK, then eat less.
• 好 吧 ， 你 自己 决定 。 Hǎo bā, nǐ zìjǐ juédìng. All right, you decide yourself
• 好 吧 ， 不 跟 他 一起 去 。 Hǎo bā, bù gēn tā yīqǐ qù. Fine, I won't go with you.

See also

• Softening speech with "ba"
• Suggestions with "ba"
• Expressing contrariness with "dao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) →buy
• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Pre-Intermediate (汉语口语速成提高篇) (pp. 52-3)
• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (汉语口语速成基础篇) (p.98) →buy
• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 1 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (p. 55) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (p. 246) →buy