Learn about Chinese particles
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Intro |
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| Michael: How many particles are there in Chinese? |
| Dehua: And why are they important? |
| Michael: At ChineseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. In this scenario, Mark Lee needs some help from his neighbor, Haitao Huang. He calls him and asks, |
| "Are you busy?" |
| 李 马克: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| Dialogue |
| 李 马克: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| 黄 海涛: 不，我不忙。 (Bù, wǒ bù máng.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 李 马克: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| Michael: "Are you busy?" |
| 黄 海涛: 不，我不忙。 (Bù, wǒ bù máng.) |
| Michael: "No, I'm not busy." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be learning how many particles, or |
| Dehua: 助词 (zhùcí) |
| Michael: there are in Chinese and why they are important. There are, in fact, six major particles in Chinese. Any other particles are generated from these six particles. Particles in Chinese are usually found at the end of a sentence, on their own, but they can also be used in the middle of a sentence, either on their own or in conjunction with another particle. These particles indicate the mood of the speaker or generator of the language. This is why they are sometimes called “modal particles.” The first particle we will be studying is |
| Dehua: 啊 (a) |
| Michael: Chinese speakers use this particle to indicate excitement, exclamation or a sense of urgency on the part of the speaker. When someone smells good food cooking, for instance, they might say something like: |
| Dehua: 好香啊! (Hǎo xiāng a!) |
| Michael: which translates to “It smells so good!” In this, and similar contexts, the particle can be seen as the equivalent of saying “wow” in English. Another context in which it can be used is to express an emphatic feeling, such as indignation or surprise. For instance, if someone is accused of knowing something that they really don’t, they might say: |
| Dehua: 我不知道啊！(Wǒ bù zhīdào a!) |
| Michael: which means “I honestly don’t know!” Often indignation of this sort can turn to anger. This same particle can be used to indicate that someone is angry. For example, if someone says |
| Dehua: 你到底什么意思啊？(Nǐ dàodǐ shénme yìsi a?) |
| Michael: They are saying “What on earth do you mean?” The expression “what on earth” carries the same mood as the Chinese particle in this sentence, adding to it an aspect of anger or outrage. |
| Surprise is closely related to indignation or outrage in the sense that these are often immediate reactions to an unexpected situation. Surprise can be positive though. Perhaps someone is surprised but happy that their friend didn’t move to another town. They might then say something like |
| Dehua: 你没去啊？(Nǐ méi qù a?) |
| Michael: which means, “You didn’t go?” Another excellent way to use this particle. You can also use it at the end of a sentence or at the end of a question when you want to convey surprise or excitement. Take for instance, the sentence, |
| Dehua: 你没去啊？(Nǐ méi qù a?) |
| Michael: which means “You didn’t go?” Taking it even further, this same particle can be used when someone wishes to express a sense of urgency, as in a sentence like this one: |
| Dehua: 快走啊，时间不早了。(Kuài zǒu a, shí jiān bù zǎo le.) |
| Michael: This means, “Go quickly, it is late now.” Perhaps the speaker is urging someone to get their shopping done before the stores close. And speaking of things to do with shopping, one often needs a list when shopping and this particle can be used when listing items. Look at this sentence, for instance: |
| Dehua: 衣服呀、鞋子呀、包呀，我买了许多。(Yī fu ya, xié zi ya, bāo ya, wǒ mǎi le xǔ duō.) |
| Michael: It means, “I bought lots of clothes, shoes and bags.” If this person were talking to me, I might be tempted to ask them, “Do you have a lot of money?” They would then respond with either “yes” or “no.” When it comes to yes and no questions there is another particle that we can use. It can form these questions from declarative sentences. Consider the statement |
| Dehua: 这是一只猫。 (Zhè shì yī zhī māo.) |
| Michael: which means, “This is a cat.” We can easily turn it into a yes or no question by simply adding the particle |
| Dehua: 吗 (ma) |
| Michael: to the end of the sentence. The question will then sound like this: |
| Dehua: 这是一只猫吗？(Zhè shì yī zhī māo ma?) |
| Michael: meaning “Is this a cat?” Interestingly, another form of this particle can be used when a speaker thinks something is obvious. This is precisely how someone might feel if the cat referred to in the last question is very clearly a cat. One should be careful when using the particle in this way because you might end up sounding condescending, pushy, or impatient. The different form of the particle is: |
| Dehua: 嘛 (ma) |
| Here’s an example of how to use it in a sentence: |
| Dehua: 这个很简单嘛。(Zhège hěn jiǎndān ma.) |
| Michael: This sentence means, “This is so simple.” In English, when we add the word “so” to a sentence in this way, we are using it in the same way that the Chinese particle is being used. As you can see, one has to be careful not to sound condescending in either case. Sometimes when things are simple to you and not as simple to another, you might get a little impatient. In that case you can still use the same particle. Here’s an example of someone who is impatient, using this particle in a question. He is saying, “Hurry up, will you?” |
| Dehua: 你快点嘛！(Nǐ kuàidiǎn ma!) |
| Michael: Perhaps this is a father speaking to a child who is taking too long to get ready for school and making them late. In this case, the father is worried about something that might happen in the future, but, when one wants to talk about completed actions and past events, one can use the particle: |
| Dehua: 了 (le) |
| Michael: This particle is very versatile, comes in many different forms and can be used in a variety of situations, making it one of the more difficult grammatical particles to get to know in Chinese. As I mentioned, one of the ways it can be used is to indicate that a sentence is in the past tense. There is no conjugation when it comes to Chinese verbs so this particle is often used to fulfill this function. Consider the sentence |
| Dehua: 今天早上我喝咖啡了。(Jīntiān zǎoshang wǒ hē kāfēi le.) |
| Michael: which means “This morning, I drank coffee.” In this sentence, the particle is being used to indicate that the sentence is in the past tense. Take care though, because, when this pattern is used: |
| Dehua: 就要……了 (jiù yào ...le) |
| Michael: it means “about to” and is used for future events and actions. You can tell that the sentence “This morning, I drank coffee,” is in the past tense because of the words “this morning” or |
| Dehua: 今天早上 (jīntiān zǎoshang). |
| Michael: This is the best way to figure out which tense a sentence is in. Always check the context and check for any phrases that refer to the time. This particle can also be used to indicate a change of status or state. Imagine if a friend of yours suddenly gained weight since the last time you saw them. You might then be tempted to say something like, “You gained weight,” or |
| Dehua: 你胖了。(Nǐ pàng le.) |
| Michael: It’s probably not a good idea to say something like that to your friend, but it depends on how close you are to them, I suppose. Weather is something that is always changing, so, if it starts raining, for instance, you could say, “It’s starting to rain,” or |
| Dehua: 下雨了。(Xiàyǔ le.) |
| Michael: The expression |
| Dehua: 下雨 (xiàyǔ) |
| Michael: means “to rain” and when used with this particular particle, the indication is that the weather is changing. Let’s now study a particle that can be used in declarative sentences and in question sentences that are not yes or no questions. The particle is |
| Dehua: 呢 (ne) |
| Michael: Note that it can be put at the end of the sentence or in the middle. Use it when you need to express confusion, as in |
| Dehua: 我该怎么对她说呢? (Wǒ gāi zěn me duì tā shuō ne?) |
| Michael: which means “How can I tell her?” Alternatively, it can be used when you are asking someone for advice or when you want to discuss something. For instance, this sentence means “Will you go or will he?” |
| Dehua: 你去呢，还是他去呢？ (Nǐ qù ne, hái shì tā qù ne?) |
| Michael: As you can see, this person is prompting for discussion. One can also use it to soften the tone of a rhetorical question as in |
| Dehua: 你怎么能不来呢？ (Nǐ zěn me néng bù lái ne?) |
| Michael: “How can you not come?” or one can add it after a phrase in order to form a specific question, as in |
| Dehua: 我们都去，你呢？ (wǒ men dōu qù, nǐ ne?) |
| Michael: which means “All of us will go, how about you?” You can also use this particle if you want to emphasize something. Perhaps you have to work late and you want to make sure the person you are talking to knows that you feel strongly about it. You might then say something like: |
| Dehua: 我一直工作到晚上呢。 (Wǒ yī zhí gōng zuò dào wǎn shang ne.) |
| Michael: or “I will work till evening.” Furthermore, you can use this particle to express hesitation or uncertainty. Maybe you are trying to decide how you feel about something that someone else has said. In this situation, you might say something along the lines of, |
| Dehua: 我呢，并不同意你的观点。 (Wǒ ne, bìng bù tóng yì nǐ de guān diǎn.) |
| Michael: which means “I, um, can’t agree with your opinion.” Lastly, for this particle, let’s see how it can be used when you want to list examples of something: |
| Dehua: 他呢，喜欢足球；他弟弟呢，喜欢篮球；我呢，喜欢羽毛球。 (Tā ne, xǐ huan zú qiú; tā dì di ne, xǐ huan lán qiú; wǒ ne, xǐ huan yǔ máo qiú.) |
| Michael: This sentence means “He likes football, his brother likes basketball, and I like badminton.” |
| Right, now that we’ve looked at some of the more complicated particles, let’s look at a more common one that is easier to use. This particle is |
| Dehua: 吧 (ba) |
| Michael: It can be used when a person wants to say something that might sound a bit too bossy otherwise. For instance, if you want to say “Let’s go,” you can say this in Chinese: |
| Dehua: 我们走吧。(Wǒmen zǒu ba.) |
| Michael: Without the particle, the words “We go,” or |
| Dehua: 我们走 (wǒmen zǒu) |
| Michael: can sound a little too pushy or commanding. One can use it in the same way to suggest a solution to something without sounding too self-important or authoritative. The expression |
| Dehua: 这样吧 (zhèyàng ba) |
| Michael: is the best one to use in a situation like this. For instance, one might use it to say something like: |
| Dehua: 这样吧，我们先取消这个会议。(Zhèyàng ba, wǒmen xiān qǔ xiāo zhège huìyì.) |
| Michael: which means “How about this? We’ll cancel the meeting for now.” If the person had simply said, “We’ll cancel the meeting for now,” they might easily be interpreted as being bossy, but the question, “How about this?” changes the mood of the sentence and makes the speaker sound more humble. This is how the Chinese particle functions in this context as well. This same particle can also be used to indicate that the person speaking is accepting something reluctantly. The sentence |
| Dehua: 那好吧。(Nā hǎo ba.) |
| Michael: which means “Alright then,” is a common way to employ this particle. You can imagine it being said with a sigh. In keeping with the mood of reluctance, the phrase |
| Dehua: 行吧 (xíng ba) |
| Michael: can be used to indicate that you are okay with something and you’re willing to try it, but you’re not very enthusiastic. Here it is in a sentence meaning, “Okay then, if you want to cancel it, cancel it then.”: |
| Dehua: 行吧，你想取消就取消。(Xíng ba, nǐ xiǎng qǔxiāo jiù qǔxiāo.) |
| Michael: As you can tell, this person is not terribly enthusiastic about the idea of canceling. Another way to use this particle is to prompt for the listener to agree with you. It is employed in much the same way that tag questions are in English. You understand, right? (slight pause) Don’t worry, I know you can’t answer me now, but if you could you would probably answer “yes” or “no” because that is what the tag at the end of the sentence prompts you to do. It also succeeds in softening the tone of the expression. Let’s listen to how one says, “He left, didn’t he?” in Chinese: |
| Dehua: 他走了吧？(Tā zǒu le ba?) |
| Michael: This is distinctly softer in tone than simply saying, “He left.” You might have noticed the presence of the particle |
| Dehua: 了 (le) |
| Michael: in this sentence too. This is so that the listener knows that the action is completed. And, speaking of “completion”, we are almost at the end of our list of six major Chinese particles. The last one we are going to learn about is |
| Dehua: 的 (de) |
| Michael: This particle can be used when you want to emphasize a certain statement or fact in such a way that it acts as a confirmation. For instance, if someone is worried that you might not come to a meeting, you can say, “Do not worry, I am certain to come tomorrow,” or |
| Dehua: 放心，明天我一定会来的。 (Fàng xīn, míng tiān wǒ yī dìng huì lái de.) |
| Michael: You can also use it at the end of a question to add an emphatic mood to it. Imagine if someone forgets to bring the wine to a party, for instance. The response could be something like, “How could you do that? How can you forget such an important thing?” or |
| Dehua: 你是怎么搞的？这么重要的事也会忘记。 (Nǐ shì zěn me gǎo de? Zhè me zhòng yào de shì yě huì wàng jì?) |
| Michael: Furthermore, this particle can be used in an exclamatory sentence to add emphasis to the exclamation. Imagine if someone forgets that they told you not to do something and then they get angry with you for not doing it. You might then say something like |
| Dehua: 就是你亲口说的！ (Jiù shì nǐ qīn kǒu shuō de!) |
| Michael: or “You said that yourself!” As with all the particles we have talked about thus far, this particle is a mood particle, but it can also be used purely as a structural particle. You can tell how it is being used by the way it affects the meaning of the sentence. If the meaning of the sentence doesn’t change when you remove the particle, then you know it is being used as a mood particle. Of course, if the meaning does change, then you know it is being used as a structural particle. Here’s an example of it being used as a mood particle: |
| Dehua: 我明天会去的。= 我明天会去。(Wǒ míng tiān huì qù de. = Wǒ míng tiān huì qù.) |
| Michael: This sentence means “I will go tomorrow,” and its meaning doesn’t change if you remove the particle so we know that the particle is being used to indicate a mood. In this case, this particle indicates a confirmation. However, a sentence like |
| Dehua: 这本书是图书馆的。(Zhè běn shū shì tú shū guǎn de.) |
| Michael: which means, “This book is from the library,” changes to |
| Dehua: 这本书是图书馆。(Zhè běn shū shì tú shū guǎn.) |
| Michael: or “This book is library” when you remove the particle. Because of this, we know that the particle is being used as a structural element here. |
| And there you have it: the six major grammatical particles in Chinese. I am sure you will find that knowing these particles will help you greatly in your understanding and use of the Chinese language. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sentences we’ve heard in this lesson. I’ll say the sentence in English, and then I want you to try and reply in Chinese. Dehua will then model the correct answer—listen to her carefully and repeat, with emphasis on your pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how to say "Are you busy?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| Michael: Did you get it right? Listen again and repeat. |
| Dehua: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) |
| Michael: Now for our next sentence: Do you remember how to say "No, I'm not busy?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 不，我不忙。 (Bù, wǒ bù máng.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Dehua: 不，我不忙。 (Bù, wǒ bù máng.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Dehua: 不，我不忙。 (Bù, wǒ bù máng.) |
| Cultural Expansion |
| Michael: Let’s quickly talk about two more very useful particles. In this lesson, I made the occasional light comment on some of the sentences and questions that we have discussed. If a Chinese person wants to speak lightly, they might use the particle |
| Dehua: 罢了 (bà le) |
| Michael: in a sentence like this one: |
| Dehua: 他不过说说罢了。(Tā bú guò shuō shuo bà le.) |
| Michael: which means “He was just talking.” In this case, the word “just’ performs the same function as the Chinese particle—it makes the sentence lighter. Compare “He was just talking,” to “He was talking,” for instance. The latter sentence could be used by a strict teacher who doesn’t like being interrupted but the former might be used by someone who is saying something that carries little weight. It has a more neutral mood. A similar grammatical particle is this one: |
| Dehua: 而已 (ér yǐ) |
| Michael: It can be used in the same way. A typical sentence in which one might hear it used is: |
| Dehua: 我只是想想而已。(Wǒ zhǐ shì xiǎng xiang ér yǐ.) |
| Michael: which means, “I was just thinking.” Now you have learned how to add emphasis or weight to a sentence, as well as how to express something in a light way. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Dehua: 再见！(zàijiàn!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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