ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

嘛 ma final exclamatory particle

How to remember 嘛: 口 mouth + 麻 hemp = final exclamatory particle. The market lady opens her mouth in a big laugh, waves a hemp shopping bag and ends every sentence with a cheerful final exclamatory particle.

  • HSK 6
  • 14 strokes
  • Radical 口

Component breakdown

嘛 = 口 mouth + 麻 hemp

  • 口 mouth
  • 麻 hemp
    • 广 broad
    • 林 a wood
      • 木 tree
      • 木 tree
The Gushi story

The market lady opens her mouth in a big laugh, waves a hemp shopping bag and ends every sentence with a cheerful final exclamatory particle.

How it is used

  • Sentence-final particle marking something as obvious or as a mild appeal - 这不是很简单嘛 (zhè bú shì hěn jiǎndān ma) come on, isn't this easy?
  • Softens a request or states 'well, obviously...': 你不想去就别去嘛 (bù xiǎng qù jiù bié qù ma) if you don't want to go, then don't. Spoken, coaxing tone.