Particle
- Also known as: 助词 (zhùcí).
Particles are function words that depend on other words or phrases to impart meaning. They're kind of like prepositions, but more abstract. In Chinese, the key ones are aspectual particles (for indicating aspect), structural particles (for indicating relationships between words), and modal particles (for indicating mood). Chinese particles are also special words because they tend to always take the neutral tone.
Contents
Characteristics
To start off, particles don't have an inherent meaning on their own, they depend on the context to give meaning. This means that they can't be used alone, because otherwise they wouldn't mean anything! Because of this, they cannot be sentence elements (such as subject, object, etc.). When they do appear, they always appear at the end of a phrase, modifying the entire thing. Finally, particles always have a neutral tone.
Functions
Particles in Chinese can do all sorts of different things. They can indicate mood, time, relationship, voice, etc. Again, all of this has to do with the particle and the context it's in. Particles don't mean anything without context.
Subcategories
Grammar Patterns for Particles
A1 Particles
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Expressing close possession without "de" | Pronoun + Noun | 我 女朋友 |
| Expressing possession with "de" | Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2 | 我 的 老师 |
| Questions with "ne" | ⋯⋯呢 ? | 我 很 好。你 呢 ? |
| Suggestions with "ba" | Command + 吧 | 我们 走 吧 。 |
A2 Particles
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Change of state with "le" | ⋯⋯了 | 我 25 岁 了。 |
| Conceding with "ba" | ⋯⋯吧 | 那 好 吧。 |
| Expressing "already" with just "le" | Subj. + Verb Phrase + 了 | 你 应该 问 老师 。我 问 了 。 |
| Expressing "not anymore" with "le" | 不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了 | 我 不 想 吃 了 。 |
| Expressing "now" with "le" | New Situation + 了 | 吃饭 了！ |
| Expressing completion with "le" | Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj. | 我 吃 了 两 个 苹果。 |
| Expressing experiences with "guo" | Verb + 过 | 我 去 过 中国 。 |
| Modal particle "ne" | ⋯⋯呢 ? | 我 不 要 回家 。还 早 呢 ！ |
| Sentence-final interjection "a" | ⋯⋯啊 | 是 啊！谁 啊？ |
| Softening speech with "ba" | ⋯⋯吧 | 这样 不 太 好 吧。 |
| Structural particle "de" | 的 / 得 / 地 | 红色的车，跑得很快，慢慢地走 |
| Using "guo" with "le" | Verb + 过 + 了 | 她 吃 过 了 。 |
B1 Particles
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced yes-no questions with "ma" | Confirmation + Question + 吗 ？ | 你 要 什么 吗 ? |
| Aspect particle "zhe" | Verb + 着 | 我 读 ，你 听 着 。 |
| Expressing the self-evident with "ma" | Statement + 嘛 | 大家 有 话 就 说 嘛 。 |
| Reviewing options with "ba" | Option 1吧 ，⋯⋯ ；Option 2 吧 ，⋯⋯ | 不 说 吧 ，他 还 会 做 错 ；说 吧，他 肯定 不 高兴 。 |
| Using "de" (modal particle) | ⋯⋯的 | 我 不 会 骗 你 的。 |
B2 Particles
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced "le" after an object | Verb + Obj. + 了 | 我 吃 了 早饭 。 |
| Advanced "le" with complements | Subj. + Verb + 了 + Complement | 走 了 上去 。 |
| Marking a topic with "ma" | Statement + 嘛 | 大家 有 话 就 说 嘛 。 |
| Softening the tone of questions with "ne" | ⋯⋯呢？ | 他 人 在 哪 呢 ？ |
C1 Particles
| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Expressing "is or is not" with "shifou" | 是否 + Verb/Adjective | 我 不 知道 如果 那 个 房间 是否 有 足够 空间。 |
| Expressing "whether or not" with "yufou" | Verb/Adjective + 与否 | 成功 与否，都 靠 自己。 |
| Expressing possession with "zhi" | Noun + 之 + Noun | 这些 解决 问题 的 方式 仍然 有 不足 之 处。 |
| Using the particle "bei" | Sentence + 呗 | 如果 你 不 想 去 就 不 去 呗。 |
Sources and further reading
Books
- 外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照) (pp. 131 - 150)
- Practicing HSK Grammar (pp. 121 - 140)
Websites
- Chinese particles (Wikipedia)
