Listing things with "a"

When listing nouns belonging to a certain category, 啊 (a) can be added to the end of each noun to give an informal feeling a bit like saying "you know, that kind of thing" after a list of things.

Structure

A 啊， B 啊， C 啊⋯⋯

Examples

• 我们 什么 零食 都 有，花生 啊，瓜子 啊，薯片 啊，你 随便 吃 吧。Wǒmen shénme língshí dōu yǒu, huāshēng a, guāzǐ a, shǔ piàn a, nǐ suíbiàn chī ba.We have all sorts of snacks: peanuts, roasted seeds, chips, go ahead and eat whatever you want.
• 小王 啊，小李 啊，小张 啊，他们 都 在 公司，你 可以 找 他们。Xiǎo wáng a, Xiǎo Lǐ a, Xiǎo Zhāng a, tāmen dōu zài gōngsī, nǐ kěyǐ zhǎo tāmen.Xiao Wang, Xiao Li, and Xiao Zhang all work for the same company, you can ask them.
• 手机 有 很多 功能，比如说 拍照 啊，看视频 啊，听歌 啊，都 可以。Shǒujī yǒu hěnduō gōngnéng, bǐrú shuō pāizhào a, kàn shìpín a, tīng gē a, dōu kěyǐ.Cellphones have many uses, such as taking photos, watching videos, and listening to music. They can do it all.
• 椅子 啊，桌子 啊，电脑 啊 什么的 都 买 好 了，现在 办公室 只 差 招 员工 了！Yǐzi a, zhuōzi a, diànnǎo a shénme de dōu mǎihǎole, xiànzài bàngōngshì zhǐ chà zhāo yuángōngle!Chairs, tables, computers, and so on have all been bought. Now the office only needs to hire workers!
• 春节 啊，中秋节 啊，端午节 啊，都 是 中国 重要 的 节日。Chūnjié a, Zhōngqiū jié a, Duānwǔ jié a, dōu shì Zhōngguó zhòngyào de jiérì.Spring Festival, Mid Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, are all important Chinese holidays.
• 这 首 歌 太 火 了，路上 啊，车上 啊，电视上 啊，都 在 放 这 首 歌。Zhè shǒu gē tài huǒ le, lùshàng a, chē shàng a, diànshì shàng a, dōu zài fàng zhè shǒu gē.This song is too popular, on the street, in the car, on TV, they are all playing this song.
• 《发展 汉语》 啊， 《实用 汉语 课本》 啊，我 都 学 过，没 用！“Fāzhǎn Hànyǔ” a, “Shíyòng Hànyǔ Kèběn” a, wǒ dōu xuéguò, méi yòng!"Developing Chinese" and "The Practical Chinese Reader," we've studied both of them, they won't help.
• 你 去 上海 啊，杭州 啊，南京 啊都 很 方便 的。Nǐ qù Shànghǎi a, Hángzhōu a, Nánjīng adōu hěn fāngbiàn de.Going to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, are all very convenient.

As in the second example, the list can be followed by 什么的, but is not generally followed by 等 as this feels too formal.

See also

• Ending a Non-Exhaustive List with "shenme de"
• Sentence-final interjection "a"

Sources and Further Reading

• 现代汉语八百词 (pp. 47) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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