吧 ba polite suggestion
polite suggestion; guess
How to remember 吧: 口 mouth + 巴 wait for = polite suggestion. The waiter opens his mouth, decides to wait for the couple to finish kissing, then offers a polite suggestion about dessert.
Component breakdown
吧 = 口 mouth + 巴 wait for
- 口 mouth
- 巴 wait for
The waiter opens his mouth, decides to wait for the couple to finish kissing, then offers a polite suggestion about dessert.
How it is used
- Softens a sentence into a suggestion or a guess - 走吧 (zǒu ba) let's go, 好吧 (hǎo ba) fine then, 你是老师吧? (nǐ shì lǎoshī ba) you're a teacher, right?
- Contrast 吗 (ma), which asks a genuine yes/no question: 你去吗? asks whether you'll go; 你去吧 tells you to go / assumes you will.
- The separate loanword 酒吧 (jiǔbā) 'bar' just borrows the sound.
Words with 吧
Example sentences
- 饭前先吃点小吃吧！ Fàn qián xiān chī diǎn xiǎochī ba!Let's eat some snacks before the meal.
- 时间很晚了，我们回家吧！ Shíjiān hěn wǎn le, wǒmen huíjiā ba!It's very late, so let's go home!
- 你在开玩笑吧？ Nǐ zài kāi wánxiào ba?Are you kidding?
- 我们共同努力吧。 Wǒmen gòngtóng nǔlì ba.Let's make a joint effort.