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<h1>Expressing the self-evident with "ma"
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<p>The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple "yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma) you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).
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<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 See also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 Sources and further reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.1 Books </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4.2 Websites</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

<div class="deux">Statement + 嘛</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 妹妹 很 漂亮 嘛 。
Nǐ mèimei hěn piàoliang ma.
Your sister is pretty. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 家 挺 有钱 的 嘛 。
Tā jiā tǐng yǒuqián de ma.
His family is pretty rich. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">不 想 去 就 不要 去 嘛 。
Bù xiǎng qù jiù bùyào qù ma.
If you don't wanna go, don't go. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 别 太 谦虚 嘛 。
Nǐ bié tài qiānxū ma.
Don't be too modest. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">大家 有 话 就 说 嘛 。
Dàjiā yǒu huà jiù shuō ma.
Guys, you should say whatever you want to say. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 跟 他 很 熟 嘛 。
Nǐ gēn tā hěn shóu ma.
You two know each other well. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">开 慢点 ，安全 第一 嘛 。
Kāi màn diǎn, ānquán dìyī ma.
Drive slowly. Safety first. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">不用 塑料袋 更 环保 嘛 。
Bùyòng sùliàodài gèng huánbǎo ma.
It's more environmentally friendly not to use plastic bags. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">这个 老外 很 了解 中国 文化 嘛 。
Zhège lǎowài hěn liǎojiě Zhōngguó wénhuà ma.
This foreigner know a lot about Chinese culture. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">别 担心 ，一边 工作 一边 学 嘛 。
Bié dānxīn, yībiān gōngzuò yībiān xué ma.
Don't worry. You can learn while you work.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h3>See also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Marking a topic with "ma"</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h3>Sources and further reading</h3>

<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 225) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 19) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Intermediate Chinese - A Grammar and Workbook →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Websites </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;"> Three Simple Uses of the Other "Ma" on a Bag</span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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