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
This 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.
Some examples:
- 女孩子 嘛，害怕。
- 男人 嘛，总是要喝啤酒。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 225) →buy →买
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 19) →buy
- Intermediate Chinese - A Grammar and Workbook (Unit 23) →buy
