exPreSSiNG SPeaker attitUdeS aNd PerSPeCtiVeS
56.256.2 Sentence final particles
Sentence final particles occur in neutral tone. Here are some common sentence final particles
that are used to express speaker attitude.
嘛 ma indicates that something is obviously true我早就告诉你他不是好人嘛。
我早就告訴你他不是好人嘛。
Wǒ zǎo jiù gàosu nǐ tā bù shì hǎo rén ma.
Didn’t I tell you from the start that he wasn’t a good person?
啊 a obviousness, impatience你要多注意身体啊。
你要多注意身體啊。
Nǐ yào duō zhùyì shēntǐ a.
You should pay more attention to your health.
咯 lo obviousness我们该走了。再不走就晚咯。
我們該走了。再不走就晚咯。
Wǒmen gāi zǒu le. Zài bù zǒu jiù wǎn lo.
We’d better go now. If we don’t go, we will be late.
啦 la exclamation好啦，好啦，别再说啦！
好啦，好啦，別再說啦！
Hǎo la, hǎo la, bié zài shuō la!
Okay, okay, don’t say it again!(^) Note 啦 la is a combination of the sentence final particles 了 le and 啊 a. Its meaning varies depending upon
the sentence.
吧 ba suggestions; commands; suppositions
多吃一点吧！
多吃一點吧！
Duō chī yīdiǎn ba!
Eat a little more!
给我吧！
給我吧！
Gěi wǒ ba!
Give it to me!
您是王教授吧！
Nín shì Wáng jiàoshòu ba!
You must be Professor Wang!
For discussion of the sentence final particles 吗/嗎 ma, 呢 ne, 了 le, and 吧 ba, see
C28.1.1, 28.5, 34.3, 38.1, 51.1