<p>There are many use-cases of 吧. In these 吧 should be placed at the end of the sentence.</p>

<p>First the  吧 is used when making <strong>polite suggestions, requests or orders</strong>. Its presence will <em>soften the tone</em> of such a request or suggestion.</p>

<p>Some examples:</p>

<ul>
<li>走吧 (zou3 ba): let's go</li>
<li>帮帮他吧! (bang1 bang1 ta1 ba): help him!</li>
<li>我们赶快去医院看她吧 (wo3 men gan3 kuai4 qu4 yi1 yuan4 kan4 ta1 ba): let's go quickly to the hospital to see her</li>
<li>饭菜凉了，快一点儿吃吧 (fan4 cai4 liang2 le, kuai4 yi4 dianr3 chi1 ba): the food has become cold, please start eating
<ul>
<li>如果你在英语方面有问题，就问我吧 (ru2 guo3 ni3 zai4 ying1 yu3 fang1 mian4 you3 wen4 ti2, jiu4 wen4 wo3 ba): if you have questions related to
English, ask them</li>
</ul></li>
<li>你们快回家去吧 (ni3 men kuai4 hui2 jia1 qu4 ba): you'd beter go back home right away</li>
<li>你就放心吧 (ni3 jiu4 fang4 xin1 ba): you can count on me</li>
<li>咱们喝点什么吧 (za2 men he1 dian3 shen2 me ba): let us drink something</li>
</ul>

<p>Secondly it is used to <strong>express approval</strong>. Some examples:</p>

<ul>
<li>好吧 (hao3 ba): OK</li>
<li>好吧，听你的 (hao3 ba, ting1 ni3 de): all right; whatever you say/we'll do it your way</li>
</ul>

<p>Thirdly it is used to <strong>ask a question</strong> (<strong>involving a conjecture or to indicate doubt</strong> without seeking an answer or to <em>soften the question</em>). Some examples:</p>

<ul>
<li>你不会不知道吧？ (ni3 bu2 hui4 bu4 zhi1 dao4 ba): How can't you know (you have to know it already)</li>
<li>你有一点儿累了吧？ (ni3 you3 yi4 dianr3 lei4 le ba?): You are a bit tired, aren't you? (This is used for example you can see from the person's face that is tired so it's more a rhetorical question)</li>
<li>他到三十岁了吧？ (ta1 dao4 san1 shi2 sui4 le ba?): has he reached 30?</li>
<li>这是我的吧？ (zhe4 shi wo3 de ba ba): This is mine, right? (instead of 这是我的）</li>
</ul>

<p>Fourthly when you are not completely certain, you want to <strong>indicate uncertainty or supposition</strong>.  It will <em>soften the tone</em>. Some examples:</p>

<ul>
<li>这个汉字不对吧 (zhe4 ge han4 zi bu2 dui4 ba): This Chinese character is wrong, I guess. (Compare this sentence to 这个汉字不对. The tone of the latter is much stronger. It's an authorative statement, while the former expresses doubt).</li>
<li>大概是前天吧 (da4 gai4 shi4 qian2 tian1 ba): It most have been the day before yesterday</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-05-17T06:04:01.880Z
2012-05-18T12:53:45.890Z
2012-05-18T12:53:45.890Z
BertR
<p>My textbook explains that 吧 is a modal particle, but I'm not a linguist and the "modal particle" article on Wikipedia didn't help. Can you give examples of using 吧 in conversation?</p>

<word-choice><grammar>
Example of using 吧 in conversation
# Example of using 吧 in conversation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-05-17)

My textbook explains that 吧 is a modal particle, but I'm not a linguist and the "modal particle" article on Wikipedia didn't help. Can you give examples of using 吧 in conversation?

**Tags:** word-choice, grammar


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-05-17. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

There are many use-cases of 吧. In these 吧 should be placed at the end of the sentence.

First the 吧 is used when making **polite suggestions, requests or orders**. Its presence will *soften the tone* of such a request or suggestion.

Some examples:

* 走吧 (zou3 ba): let's go
* 帮帮他吧! (bang1 bang1 ta1 ba): help him!
* 我们赶快去医院看她吧 (wo3 men gan3 kuai4 qu4 yi1 yuan4 kan4 ta1 ba): let's go quickly to the hospital to see her
* 饭菜凉了，快一点儿吃吧 (fan4 cai4 liang2 le, kuai4 yi4 dianr3 chi1 ba): the food has become cold, please start eating
  + 如果你在英语方面有问题，就问我吧 (ru2 guo3 ni3 zai4 ying1 yu3 fang1 mian4 you3 wen4 ti2, jiu4 wen4 wo3 ba): if you have questions related to
    English, ask them
* 你们快回家去吧 (ni3 men kuai4 hui2 jia1 qu4 ba): you'd beter go back home right away
* 你就放心吧 (ni3 jiu4 fang4 xin1 ba): you can count on me
* 咱们喝点什么吧 (za2 men he1 dian3 shen2 me ba): let us drink something

Secondly it is used to **express approval**. Some examples:

* 好吧 (hao3 ba): OK
* 好吧，听你的 (hao3 ba, ting1 ni3 de): all right; whatever you say/we'll do it your way

Thirdly it is used to **ask a question** (**involving a conjecture or to indicate doubt** without seeking an answer or to *soften the question*). Some examples:

* 你不会不知道吧？ (ni3 bu2 hui4 bu4 zhi1 dao4 ba): How can't you know (you have to know it already)
* 你有一点儿累了吧？ (ni3 you3 yi4 dianr3 lei4 le ba?): You are a bit tired, aren't you? (This is used for example you can see from the person's face that is tired so it's more a rhetorical question)
* 他到三十岁了吧？ (ta1 dao4 san1 shi2 sui4 le ba?): has he reached 30?
* 这是我的吧？ (zhe4 shi wo3 de ba ba): This is mine, right? (instead of 这是我的）

Fourthly when you are not completely certain, you want to **indicate uncertainty or supposition**. It will *soften the tone*. Some examples:

* 这个汉字不对吧 (zhe4 ge han4 zi bu2 dui4 ba): This Chinese character is wrong, I guess. (Compare this sentence to 这个汉字不对. The tone of the latter is much stronger. It's an authorative statement, while the former expresses doubt).
* 大概是前天吧 (da4 gai4 shi4 qian2 tian1 ba): It most have been the day before yesterday


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