Sentence-final particles in Mandarin can be rather confusing for its learners. Today, we are going to learn the differences between the three most commonly used sentence-final particles: 嗎 , 吧 , and 呢 .
1. 嗎
In short, 嗎 is the equivalent of a question mark. When 嗎 is used at the end of a question, the person answering the question is expected to answer with “yes” or “no.” In other words, you are asked to confirm or negate the verb or adjective.
Example:
你喜歡紅色嗎?
nǐ xǐ huān hóng sè ma?
Do you like red?
她美嗎?
tā mĕi ma?
Is she beautiful?
你喜歡紅色嗎?
nǐ xǐ huān hóng sè ma?
Do you like red?
她美嗎?
tā mĕi ma?
Is she beautiful?
2. 吧
吧 is not as straight forward as 嗎 is. It is not always a question. You can use 吧 as a “tag” question. It is used when the speaker already has the answer, but wishes to confirm.
Example:
你喜歡紅色吧?
nǐ xǐ huān hóng sè ba?
You like red, don’t you?
她會說中文吧?
tā huì shuō zhōng wén ba?
She speaks Chinese, doesn’t she?
Another way of using 吧 is when the speaker wishes to make a suggestion or request.
Example:
我們見面吧。
wǒ men jiàn miàn ba.
Let’s meet.
你們先開始吧。
nǐ men xiān kāi shǐ ba.
Why don’t you (plural) start first?
你喜歡紅色吧?
nǐ xǐ huān hóng sè ba?
You like red, don’t you?
她會說中文吧?
tā huì shuō zhōng wén ba?
She speaks Chinese, doesn’t she?
Another way of using 吧 is when the speaker wishes to make a suggestion or request.
Example:
我們見面吧。
wǒ men jiàn miàn ba.
Let’s meet.
你們先開始吧。
nǐ men xiān kāi shǐ ba.
Why don’t you (plural) start first?
3. 呢
Answers to 呢 questions are more open-ended. Unlike 嗎 , one does not answer with a simple yes or no.
Example:
我很好,你呢?
wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
I’m doing well, you?
你喜歡什麼顏色呢?
nǐ zuì xǐ huān shén me yán sè ne?
What is your favorite color?
我很好,你呢?
wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
I’m doing well, you?
你喜歡什麼顏色呢?
nǐ zuì xǐ huān shén me yán sè ne?
What is your favorite color?