Particles, Modals...and stuff

[coolsteven2]

In Chinese, what does things like 啦， 呀，吧，阿， and such mean? I hear it a lot and i want to know the meaning?

Please tell me what they do to a sentence. and if there are more please tell me!

Can you explain what it does instead of tell me the direct meaning >.>

[Hedge]

They convey sounds, either just for the sounds sake or to pronounce foreign names/words.

[Daan]

There are plenty more particles, but to give you some examples:　

吧　generally turns sentences into suggestions, so whereas "我們去看電影" is a factual statement meaning "we are going see a movie", ""我們去看電影吧" means "let's go and see a movie!".

嗎 turns sentences into questions: “李小姐在這邊" means "Ms. Li is here", but "李小姐在這邊嗎" means "Is Ms. Li here?".

啊，呀 and 啦 are slightly more complicated. As a rule, 呀 is the same as 啊, but then this one is used after vowels. 啦 is a combination of 了 and 啊. 啊 itself can indicate either that the speaker considers something to be very obvious, or that he is slightly annoyed. There is a prosodical difference between the two.

I don't really have time to write more and this probably isn't the best explanation anyway, so perhaps others would like to add more! I could recommend buying a grammar book. There would certainly be far more examples and explanations, and also exercises you could do to practise.

[coolsteven2]

@Daan

Omg... i think ive been using 啊 in the wrong way O_O ive said it a lot and i think it might have came out rude or in the wrong way O_O

Edited September 1, 2009 at 02:51 AM by coolsteven2

[imron]

@coolsteven2, note the difference between 阿 and 啊.

阿 is completely different from 啊 and is usually used as the first character in a names/nicknames to show familiarity.

[coolsteven2]

When you say something may you please give example! Thanks!

@imron

Huh? i didnt get it -_-

[imron]

Daan is talking about the character 啊 but each time you've written it, you are mistakenly writing the character 阿 (I say mistakenly because due to the context, 啊 is similar in function to 呀, 啦 etc, whereas 阿 is completely different).

For example, it's quite common (moreso in the south) that if someone had a close friend/little sister whose name contains the character 美, they might call her 阿美.

This is completely different from 啊, which is used as an interjection at the end of sentences.

[abcdefg]

...it's quite common (moreso in the south) that if someone had a close friend/little sister whose name contains the character 美, they might call her 阿美.

I encountered this a lot in Zhuhai with girl's names. Not sure if is used with guy's names as well. Would be interested to know.

Also many of the girls with whom I exchanged duanxin （短信）tended to end their sentences in these “vowel particles,” the Hanzi of which contained a “mouth” (kou =口.) Much more so than the guys with whom I chatted. It seemed to be a female mannerism of speech. I'm not sure my observation was correct. Anybody know?

[fengyixiao]

Yes，it is used with guy's names as well，for example “阿虎” (A Hongkong film acted by 刘德华)。

阿虎、阿龙 for young guys,阿美、阿霞 for young girls。

Such names are popular for young people in southchina.

In northchina，the name may be “大虎、大龙”、“小美、小霞”。

[abcdefg]

Yes，it is used with guy's names as well，for example “阿虎” (A Hongkong film acted by 刘德华)。

阿虎、阿龙 for young guys,阿美、阿霞 for young girls。

Such names are popular for young people in southchina.

Thanks for the information. Appreciate it.