<p>It's a hard question. </p>

<p>They are interchangeable most of time in this usage without affecting meaning. I can't think of an example in which you can only use one over the other. </p>

<p>To me, 呀 sounds more folksy, while 啊 sounds a bit more formal. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T22:32:18.153Z
我这儿经常听到‘啊懂啊？’，从来没听到‘呀懂呀？’
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T10:42:07.733Z
2018-03-03T10:42:07.733Z
dan
<p>The simplistic way to remember it is: they are various forms of 啊 depending on (the shape of the mouth in) the ending sound of the previous syllable.  There're also 哪 which is 啊 preceded by a final n-sound (人哪 Oh people!); 哇 (好哇；不够哇);啦 (preceded by 儿 sound in Northern-speak)；etc.</p>

<p>However, there is still a difference between them in some cases (need more context), sometimes conveying surprise, disbelief, amazement, etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-14T10:25:20.163Z
2019-06-14T10:25:20.163Z
Lillian Chia
<p><strong>ABC</strong>'s entry for 呀 says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>呀</p>
<p>ya5</p>
<p>(replacing <strong>a</strong> (啊) when preceding word ends in <strong>a</strong>, <strong>e</strong>, <strong>i</strong>, <strong>o</strong>, or <strong>(y)u</strong>)</p>
<p>快来呀!
Kuài lái ya!
Come quickly!</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>呀 is a replacement for 啊 when it comes after a vowel</strong>.</p>
<p>This is also corroborated by《规范》's entry:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>助 “啊(a)”受前一个音节末尾音素ɑ､e､o､i､ü的影响产生音变而采用的不同写法</p>
<p>说话(huà)呀 | 车(chē)呀 | 你说(shuō)呀 | 起来(lái)呀 | 快去(qù)呀。</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T11:56:11.947Z
2018-03-03T12:01:29.227Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Mou某
<p>呀 and 啊 both seem to be used in the end of sentences for exclamation, and the only difference that I can think of is that the pronunciation in Putonghua (Mandarin) is different. In Cantonese, even the pronunciation is the same. Do 呀 and 啊 mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably or are their meaning different?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T13:41:42.470Z
see grammars or dictionaries, e.g.＂汉语８００虚词用法词典＂：呀［助］（aux。）used in place of 啊 when the preceding character ends in the sound a,o,e,i,or v (u umlaut) 是＂啊＂受前一字韵母a,o,e,i，v 的影响而发生的音变。
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T16:19:09.247Z
Reading all the questions here makes me doubt whether I am really a Chinese. I have never thought about this before. :-)
Yu Zhang
<meaning><difference><word>
What is the difference between 呀 and 啊?
# What is the difference between 呀 and 啊?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-03)

呀 and 啊 both seem to be used in the end of sentences for exclamation, and the only difference that I can think of is that the pronunciation in Putonghua (Mandarin) is different. In Cantonese, even the pronunciation is the same. Do 呀 and 啊 mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably or are their meaning different?

**Tags:** meaning, difference, word

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: see grammars or dictionaries, e.g.＂汉语８００虚词用法词典＂：呀［助］（aux。）used in place of 啊 when the preceding character ends in the sound a,o,e,i,or v (u umlaut) 是＂啊＂受前一字韵母a,o,e,i，v 的影响而发生的音变。  
> **username_2**: Reading all the questions here makes me doubt whether I am really a Chinese. I have never thought about this before. :-)  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-03-03. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

**ABC**'s entry for 呀 says:

> 呀
>
> ya5
>
> (replacing **a** (啊) when preceding word ends in **a**, **e**, **i**, **o**, or **(y)u**)
>
> 快来呀!
> Kuài lái ya!
> Come quickly!

**呀 is a replacement for 啊 when it comes after a vowel**.

This is also corroborated by《规范》's entry:

> 助 “啊(a)”受前一个音节末尾音素ɑ､e､o､i､ü的影响产生音变而采用的不同写法
>
> 说话(huà)呀 | 车(chē)呀 | 你说(shuō)呀 | 起来(lái)呀 | 快去(qù)呀。


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### Answer by username_3 on 2018-03-03. Score: 2

It's a hard question.

They are interchangeable most of time in this usage without affecting meaning. I can't think of an example in which you can only use one over the other.

To me, 呀 sounds more folksy, while 啊 sounds a bit more formal.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: 我这儿经常听到‘啊懂啊？’，从来没听到‘呀懂呀？’  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2019-06-14. Score: 1

The simplistic way to remember it is: they are various forms of 啊 depending on (the shape of the mouth in) the ending sound of the previous syllable. There're also 哪 which is 啊 preceded by a final n-sound (人哪 Oh people!); 哇 (好哇；不够哇);啦 (preceded by 儿 sound in Northern-speak)；etc.

However, there is still a difference between them in some cases (need more context), sometimes conveying surprise, disbelief, amazement, etc.


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