Difference between revisions of "Expressing the self-evident with "ma""

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* 你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="trans">Your sister is pretty.</span>
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* 你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de mèimei hěn piàoliang <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">Your sister is pretty.</span>
* 中国 人口 很 多 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="trans">The Chinese population is huge.</span>
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* 中国 人口 很 多 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngguó rénkǒu hěn duō <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">The Chinese population is huge.</span>
* 美国人 很 开放 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="trans">Americans are very open-minded.</span>
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* 美国人 很 开放 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Měiguó rén hěn kāifàng <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">Americans are very open-minded.</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 16:45, 24 December 2014

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).

Sentence-Final Structure

Statement + 嘛

Examples

  • 你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 Nǐ de mèimei hěn piàoliang ma.Your sister is pretty.
  • 中国 人口 很 多 Zhōngguó rénkǒu hěn duō ma.The Chinese population is huge.
  • 美国人 很 开放 Měiguó rén hěn kāifàng ma.Americans are very open-minded.

Topic-Marking Structure

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.

Examples

  • 大熊猫,孩子们都很喜欢。Pandas.Children all like them.
  • 男人 ,总是要喝点酒,抽点烟。Men. They're always going to drink and smoke.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites