Lesson Transcript

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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