Modal Particles: One of the Unique Components of the Chinese Language

Modal particles can be used by itself or with different tones and parts of speech to indicate different moods. Compared to some languages (i.e. Indo-European languages), modal particles are one of the unique components of the Chinese language. For people who are learning Mandarin Chinese, modal particles present a number of obstacles.

Below are some features of the particles:

The majority of the modal particles are placed at the end of a sentence. When two modal particles are used, they can sometimes be combined and become one syllable:
了 (le) + 啊 (a) → 啦 (la)
呢 (ne) + 啊 (a) → 哪 (na)
了 (le) + 喔 (ou) → 囉 (lou), etc…
Normally, modal particles are pronounced in the neutral tone. The intonation of the sentence depends on the syllable before the modal particle.
Another difficult point is that several modal particles used together can sometimes convey a single mood, whereas a single modal particle may convey several different moods. Therefore, in order to determine what mood a certain particle is indicating, you have to look at the intonation and a few other factors as well.

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How To Use Modal Particles To Indicate Moods?

Below are the four main categories of the usage of modal particles to help you see the differences between each of them: Interrogative, Imperative, Exclamatory, Affirmative.

The Interrogative Mood

1. 嗎 (ma)

Placing 嗎 at the end of a declarative sentence turns it into a yes-no question. The question can either be positive or negative.

Positive:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你看到張老師了嗎？	nǐ kàndào zhāng lǎoshī le ma	Have you seen teacher Zhang?

Negative:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
他不會說台語嗎？	tā búhuì shuō táiyǔ ma	Can he not speak Taiwanese?

嗎 can also be found in rhetorical questions. Sometimes, it is used to indicate a suspicious or blaming mood. When 嗎 is used in a rhetorical question, affirmative sentences then have negative meanings and negative sentences have positive meanings.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
我不是去過了嗎？	wǒ búshi qù guò le ma	I already went!

2. 呢 (ne or nē in Taiwan)

Questioning:

When 呢 is used, interrogative pronouns such as who, what, how, etc... will also be in the sentences. The pronouns are responsible for indicating the interrogative mood, and 呢 is not necessary. When 呢 is used, the sentence often shows that the speaker is confused.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
這是怎麼回事呢？	zhè shì zěnmehuíshì ne	What is going on here...?

In some situations, interrogative pronouns can be omitted when 呢 is used. These kinds of questions are usually asking for the location of a person or an object.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你的媽媽呢？ (你的媽媽在哪裡？)	nǐde māma ne	Where is your mom?

It can also be used in rhetorical questions to make the mood more moderate.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
他沒去過法國，怎麼會去過巴黎鐵塔呢？	tā méi qù guò fǎguó zěnme huì qù guò Bālí Tiětǎ ne	He hasn’t been to France. So how could he have been to the Eiffel Tower?

Consulting & Asking for Permission:

Another main use of 呢 is to negotiate or consult. The mood of the sentence is less harsh when 呢 is placed at the end of an alternative question.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
我們是去新宿，還是去銀座呢？	wǒmen shì qù xīnsù háishi qù yínzuò ne	[What do you think...] should we go to Shinjuku or Ginza?

When you add 呢 after a noun or a pronoun, you can omit the predicates.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
明天他們要去參觀博物館，你們呢？	míngtiān tāmen yào qù cānguān bówùguǎn, nǐmen ne	They are visiting the museum tomorrow, how about you guys?

In this sentence, “你們呢？” is actually asking them “你們去不去參觀？" (nǐmen qùbúqù cānguān / you guys go visit). “去不去參觀” has been replaced by “呢”.

An interesting fact about 呢 is that it can't be used in a question without any forms of background and information.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
媽媽，你的鞋子呢？	māma nǐde xiézi ne	Mom, where's your shoe?

In the sentence above, the question is asking where the shoe is (你的鞋子在哪裡？). We can only use 呢 when we have the information that the speaker realized his/her mom is missing a shoe.

When 呢 is used to indicate an ongoing action, the question doesn’t need any further information. However, when 呢 is only used to indicate the mood, you need more background information in the sentence.

3. 啊 (a)

It can be used in yes-no questions to show the speaker is a bit doubtful or even surprised.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
小李不去上海啊？	Xiǎo Lǐ bú qù Shànghǎi ā	Isn't Li going to Shanghai?

It can be used in an interrogative sentence, the intonation is usually higher at the end of the sentence. Sentences usually sound mellower with the use of 啊. The second example is a rhetorical question formed with 啊.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你為什麼不高興啊？	nǐ wèishénme bùgāoxìng ā	Why are you upset?
幹嘛不說啊？	gànmá bù shuō ā?	Why don’t you say it?

It’s also used in alternative questions, the intonation is higher. The question is usually trying to get to the bottom of something.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你到底來不來啊？	nǐ dàodǐ lái bù lái ā	Are you coming or not?

4. 吧 (ba)

When you add 吧 to the end of a declarative sentence, the sentence turns into a yes-no question. 吧 is used instead of 嗎 (ma) because we are not simply raising a question. We are also guessing; therefore, you can often see Chinese words such as maybe, possibly, etc. being used in the sentence. Coincidentally, these kinds of adverbs aren’t used in sentences that end with 嗎.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
參加派對的人一定很多吧？	cānjiā pàiduì de rén yídìng hěnduō ba	There must be a lot of people at the party, right?

Sometimes, 吧 can be seen at the end of declarative sentences. The interrogative mood isn’t obvious. Here, it’s not a yes-no question, it is actually an affirmative sentence. 吧 is used to make the mood mellower.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
這點常識，你不會不懂吧？	zhè diǎn chángshí (TW: chángshì), nǐ búhuì bù dǒng ba	Don't tell me that you don't [even] have this common knowledge.
我跟你說過吧，但你就是不相信。	wǒ gēn nǐ shuō guò ba, dàn nǐ jiùshì bù xiāngxìn	I told you [about it], but you didn't believe me!

The Imperative Mood

Moods: Demanding, commanding, urging, and advising.
Commonly Used Modal Particles: 吧 (ba) and 啊 (a)

1. 吧 (ba)

To ask for something, and verbs like please, let, and ask are sometimes used in the sentences.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
爸爸，你就答應了吧！	bàba, nǐ jiù dāying (TW: dāyìng) le ba	Dad, please say yes!

To give commands or orders. Normally, orders and commands aren’t given with any modal particles. When 吧 is used in the sentence, it eases up the command and makes it sound more like an advice.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你好好聽聽大家意見吧！	nǐ hǎohǎo tīngtīng dàjiā yìjiàn ba	Listen to everyone's advice!

2. 啊 (ā)

When giving orders or commands, having 啊 at the end of a sentence makes it sound like a reminder. Sometimes, it has the urging tone and the intonation is higher at the end of a sentence.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
注意啊，電影馬上開始了。	zhùyì ā, diànyǐng mǎshàng kāishǐ le	Pay attention, the movie's about to start!
明天你早點來啊！	míngtiān nǐ zǎodiǎn lái ā	[Try and] get here earlier tomorrow!
你怎麼不出聲，說啊！	nǐ zěnme bù chūshēng, shuō ā	Why don’t you say something? Speak up!

The Exclamatory Mood

Moods: Complimenting, sighing, praising
Commonly Used Modal Particles: 啊 (a)

Chinese	Pinyin	English
時間過好快啊，轉眼兩年過去了！	shíjiān guò hǎo kuài ā, zhuǎnyǎn liǎng nián guòqù le	Time flies! Two years gone just like that!
這是一個多美好的早晨啊！	zhè shì yígè duō měihǎo de zǎochén ā	What a beautiful morning!

The Affirmative Mood

Moods: Telling the truth and explaining the situation.
(Though not normally used, modal particles strengthen the mood of the sentence.)
Commonly Used Modal Particles: 的 (de), 了 (le), 呢 (ne), 吧 (ba), 啊 (a), etc…

1. 的 (de)

When 的 is added, it strengthens the mood of the sentence.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
放心吧，他會來的。	fàngxīn ba, tā huì lái de	Don't worry, he will be here.

2. 吧 (ba)

It’s used in declarative sentences, and normally, it is agreeing to requests or comments made by another person.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
好，明天出發吧！	hǎo, míngtiān chūfā ba	Okay, let's head out tomorrow.

It can also indicate the speaker is being forced, and there’s nothing he/she can do to change the decision.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
既然我非去不可，我就去吧。 Taiwan: 如果我一定要去，就去吧！	jìrán wǒ fēi qù bùkě, wǒ jiù qù ba Taiwan: rúguǒ wǒ yídìng yào qù, jiù qù ba!	Fine, I can't not go, so I'll go. (Fine...! I'll go!) (The Taiwan version is a more friendly way of speaking, but the first version can also be heard in Taiwan, as putting on airs, if the person is particularly angry about the situation)

It can also be used after Chinese words like 'okay' and acknowledgment.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
好吧，我們現在就去。	hǎo ba, wǒmen xiànzài jiù qù	Okay, let's go right now!

3. 啊 (a)

It has an explaining and reminding meaning when it’s used at the end of a declarative sentence. Usually, the predicate before 啊 is the main part of the sentence.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
他不是不想做，是能力不好啊。	tā búshi bùxiǎng zuò, shì nénglì bùhǎo ā	It's not that he doesn't want to do it; it's because he's not good enough.

It can also be used after two or more verbs to show the action is being continued for a period of time.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
他們聚在一起，說啊，笑啊，總是很歡樂。	tāmen jùzàiyìqǐ, shuō ā, xiào ā, zǒngshì hěn huānlè	When they are together, they are always chatting and laughing. They are always happy.

4. 嘛 (ma)

When it's used after a declarative sentence, the speaker often thinks things are supposed to go his/her way.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你知道的嘛。	nǐ zhīdào de ma	Well, you know...
走嘛！一起去吃飯。	zǒu ma yìqǐ qù chīfàn	Come on, let's go get food!

When it comes to learning Mandarin Chinese, one of the biggest misconceptions is that it nearly has any grammar. Despite not having verb conjugation, noun declension, and other complex grammatical structure like other languages, Chinese grammar is still highly structured. Being one of the more complex topics of Chinese grammar, knowing and master these modal particles can be challenging. However, the more you use them, the more clear you will be. Glossika shows you how to use these modal particles in real-life conversations. Our spaced repetition training build up your understanding of the grammar by familiarizing you little by little with various sentence structures and patterns.