Reviewing options with "ba"

When 吧 (ba) is used twice in a sentence, it is used to list two options that the speaker is debating. It gives the sentence an indecisive feel, as though the speaker doesn't know which one to choose. This construction often has a negative connotation, since the options usually are not ideal.

Structure

[Option 1] + 吧, [Evaluation]; [Option 2] + 吧, [Evaluation]

If this structure doesn't seem clear to you, the examples will help.

Examples

• 去 上海 吧 ， 太 远；去 北京 吧 ， 人 太 多 。 Qù Shànghǎi ba, tài yuǎn; qù Běijīng ba, rén tài duō. Going to Shanghai is too far away, going to Beijing has too many people.
• 冬天 去 吧 ， 太 冷；夏天 去 吧 ， 太 热 。 Dōngtiān qù ba, tài lěng; xiàtiān qù ba, tài rè. Going in the winter is too cold, going in the summer is too hot.
• 买 房 吧 ， 没 钱；不 买 房 吧 ， 没 老婆 。 Mǎi fáng ba, méi qián; bù mǎi fáng ba, méi lǎopo. If you buy a house, you won't have money. If you don't buy a house you won't have a wife.
• 学 中文 吧 ， 太 难；不 学 中文 吧 ， 找 不 到 好 工作 。 Xué Zhōngwén ba, tài nán; bù xué Zhōngwén ba, zhǎo bù dào hǎo gōngzuò. Studying Mandarin is too hard, but if you don't study Mandarin you cannot find a job.
• 去 学校 工作 吧 ， 钱 太 少；去 公司 吧 ， 太 累 。 Qù xuéxiào gōngzuò ba, qián tài shǎo; qù gōngsī ba, tài lèi. Working at the school, pay is too small, but working at a company is too tiring.
• 这 件 衣服 ， 买 吧 ， 太 贵；不 买 吧 ， 又 很 喜欢 。 Zhè jiàn yīfu, mǎi ba, tài guì; bù mǎi ba, yòu hěn xǐhuan. As for these clothes, buying them is too expensive, but if I don't buy them, I'll really want them.
• 上班 吧 ， 很 累；不 上班 吧 ， 又 无聊 。 Shàngbān ba, hěn lěi; bù shàngbān ba, yòu wúliáo. Going to work? Too tiring. Not going to work? There's nothing to do.
• 这 件 事情 ， 你 同意 吧 ， 你 不 高兴；不 同意 吧 ， 别人 不 高兴 。 Zhè jiàn shìqing, nǐ tóngyì ba, nǐ bù gāoxīng; bù tóngyì ba, biérén bù gāoxìng. As for this matter, if you agree, you won't be happy, if you don't agree, other people won't be happy.
• 早 点 去 吧 ， 需要 等；晚 点 吧 ， 可能 迟到 。 Zǎo diǎn qù ba, xūyào děng; wǎn diǎn ba, kěnéng chídào. If we go early we'll have to wait, but if we go later, we might arrive late.
• 在 复习 一点 吧， 太 累 了；去 睡觉 吧， 怕 明天 考 的 不好。 Zài fùxí yīdiǎn ba, tài lè ile, qù shuìjiào ba, pà míngtiān kǎo de bù hǎo. I should study more, but I'm too tired, however if I go to sleep now I'm afraid I won't test well tomorrow.

HSK4