In this Chinese grammar lesson, we are going to learn “吧”. In Chinese, “吧” can have two different meanings: Suggestion and Supposition.
When speakers wish to make their points in the form of a suggestion, rather than a direct command, they may put “吧” in the end of a sentence, to express “Let’s…!”
In English, when the speaker want to seek confirmation of the truth of their statement, they do this by using a “tag question”. For example, “You are Mr. Smith, aren’t you?” While, in Chinese, “吧” functions as the "tag question". E.g.
Suggestion
Wǒmen qù mǎi bɑ! 我们去买吧！ Let’s go and buy it! |
Wǒmen zhōumò qù yóuyǒnɡ bɑ! 我们周末去游泳吧！ Let’s go swimming this weekend. |
Mínɡ tiān qù pá shān bɑ！ 明天去爬山吧！ Let’s climb mountains tomorrow! |
Supposition
Nǐ jīntiān bú qù bɑ? 你今天不去吧？ You are not going today, are you? |
Nǐmen dōu dǒnɡ bɑ? 你们都懂吧？ You all understand, don’t you? |