Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
Do you remember how the character said, |
"Let's go!" |
走吧!(Zǒu ba!) |
走吧!(Zǒu ba!) |
This sentence follows the pattern here: |
(我们) + verb/verb phrase + 吧 |
(Wǒmen) + verb/verb phrase + ba |
"Let's + verb (do something)" |
It means "Let's [do something]" — a casual way to make an invitation. |
「吧」is a sentence-final particle that makes a soft suggestion or invitation—like "let's…" in English. It's pronounced in a neutral tone and placed at the end of the sentence. Because "let's" already includes the speaker and listener, 我们 is often omitted. |
Let's see how the line from the dialogue uses the pattern. |
走吧!(Zǒu ba!) |
"Let's go!" |
Let's break it down: |
走 (zǒu), the verb, means "to go" or "to walk," |
followed by |
吧 (ba), to make a suggestion or invitation. |
Altogether, 走吧! means "Let's go!" — a casual and friendly way to prompt someone to leave or start moving. |
Since the context is clear, 我们 is omitted here. |
Here is another example with more context for this pattern: |
我们去公园吧。 (Wǒmen qù gōngyuán ba.) |
"Let's go to the park." |
我们 (wǒmen), the subject, means "we" or "us," |
去 (qù) is the verb meaning "go," |
公园 (gōngyuán) means "park," |
吧 (ba) is the sentence-final particle used to make soft suggestions, like "let's." |
You also heard: |
我们马上去游泳池,行吗?(Wǒmen mǎshàng qù yóuyǒngchí, xíng ma?) |
"Shall we go to the swimming pool right now?" |
This follows the pattern: |
我们 + [action] + 行吗? |
Wǒmen + [action] + xíng ma? |
"Shall we + [action]?" |
This is used to ask politely, "Shall we [do something]?" |
Here, |
我们 (wǒmen) means "we." |
马上 (mǎshàng) means "right away" or "immediately." |
去 (qù) is the verb "to go." |
游泳池 (yóuyǒngchí) means "swimming pool." |
Then at the end, we have 行吗 (xíng ma?), which is a soft way to ask "Okay?" or "Shall we?" |
Both of these patterns are used to invite someone to do something together, but they're slightly different in tone. |
When you say something like 我们去公园吧。 (Wǒmen qù gōngyuán ba.) "Let's go to the park," the sentence-final particle 吧 (ba) makes it a gentle suggestion—you're proposing the action in a friendly way. |
On the other hand, when you say 我们马上去游泳池,行吗?(Wǒmen mǎshàng qù yóuyǒngchí, xíng ma? "Shall we go to the swimming pool now?" |
the 吗 (ma) marks a yes-no question—you're asking/confirming if the other person agrees. You'll often see it with words like 行/好/可以 before 吗: 行吗?/ 好吗?/ 可以吗? |
So both work for invitations; choose 吧 when suggesting and 吗 when asking/confirming. |
Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
我们看电影吧。(Wǒmen kàn diànyǐng ba.) |
"Let's watch a movie." |
Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
Let's break it down: |
我们 (wǒmen), the subject, means "we," |
followed by |
看 (kàn), the verb, means "to watch," |
next |
电影 (diànyǐng), meaning "movie," |
and finally |
吧 (ba), the suggestion particle, meaning "let's." |
Altogether, 我们看电影吧。 means "Let's watch a movie." — another polite and casual invitation using our key sentence pattern. |
Here's another example |
我们一起做晚饭吧。(Wǒmen yìqǐ zuò wǎnfàn ba.) |
"Let's cook dinner together." |
我们一起做晚饭吧。(Wǒmen yìqǐ zuò wǎnfàn ba.) |
"Let's cook dinner together." |
Let's try one more, |
我们去超市买东西吧。(Wǒmen qù chāoshì mǎi dōngxi ba.) |
"Let's go shopping at the supermarket." |
我们去超市买东西吧。(Wǒmen qù chāoshì mǎi dōngxi ba.) |
"Let's go shopping at the supermarket." |
Another one. |
我们现在出发,行吗?(Wǒmen xiànzài chūfā, xíng ma?) |
"Shall we leave now?" |
我们现在出发,行吗?(Wǒmen xiànzài chūfā, xíng ma?) |
"Shall we leave now?" |
One last example. |
我们晚上一起散步,行吗?(Wǒmen wǎnshang yīqǐ sànbù, xíng ma?) |
"Shall we take a walk together tonight?" |
我们晚上一起散步,行吗?(Wǒmen wǎnshang yīqǐ sànbù, xíng ma?) |
"Shall we take a walk together tonight?" |
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