Expressing the self-evident with "ma"

The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple "yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma) you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).

The structure is:

Statement + 嘛

Some examples:

• 你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 嘛。
• 中国 人口 很 多 嘛。
• 美国人 很 开放 嘛。

An alternate form is:

Topic + 嘛, + Statement

Some examples:

• 女孩子 嘛，害怕。
• 男人 嘛，总是要和啤酒。

See also

• Yes - no questions with ma

Sources and further reading

Books

• Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (p. 225) →buy →买
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (Lesson 11) →buy
• Intermediate Chinese - A Grammar and Workbook (Unit 23) →buy