Softening speech with "ba"

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.

Structure

Statement + 吧

Examples

  • 这样 不 太 好 吧 。 Zhèyàng bù tài hǎo ba. This style isn't that great.
  • 算了 吧 。 Suàn le ba. Just forget it.
  • 应该 是 吧 。 Yīnggāi shì ba. It should be. (referring to some context)
  • 太少了 吧 。 Tài shǎo le ba. Too little.
  • 这么 晚 了 ， 我们 不 去 了 吧 。 Zhème wǎn le, wǒmen bù qù le ba. It's too late now, we are not going.
  • 再 等 等 吧 。 Zài děng děng ba. Wait a little longer.
  • 你们 早 点 来 吧 。 Nǐmen zǎo diǎn lái ba. Come a little earlier.
  • 快 点 吧 ， 要 迟到 了 。 Kuài diǎn ba, yào chídào le. Hurry, we're going to be late.
  • 太 贵 了 吧 ， 我 不 买 了 。 Tài guì le ba, wǒ bù mǎi le. Too expensive! I'm not buying it.
  • 那 个 地方 太 远 了 吧，我 不 想 去。 Nà ge dìfang yǒudiǎn yuǎn ba，wǒ bù xiǎng qù. That place is too far away.I don't want to go.

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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