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B1 · Grammar reference · ASGELOTT

Reviewing options with "ba"

When 吧 (ba) is used twice in a sentence, it is used to list two options that the speaker is debating. It gives the sentence an indecisive feel, as though the speaker doesn't know which one to choose. This construction often has a negative connotation, since the options usually are not ideal.

Structure

Option 1 + 吧 ,⋯⋯ ;Option 2 + 吧 ,⋯⋯

Keywords
Used for
Expressing attitude
Classification
Particles

Examples (10)

冬天去吧,太冷;夏天去吧,太热。

早点去吧,要等;晚点去吧,会堵车。

穿得多一点吧,会热;穿得少一点吧,会冷。

去吧,要给红包;不去吧,他没面子。

不说吧,他还会做错;说吧,他肯定不高兴。

回去吧,机票太贵;不回去吧,家人肯定会想我。

带你去吧,你总是不听话;不带你去吧,你一个人肯定无聊。

见面吧,常常吵架;不见面吧,还是会想他。

不说真话吧,老婆不高兴;说真话吧,老婆也不高兴。

这个老房子,卖吧,怕父母不同意;不卖吧,就没钱买新车。

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Full explanation at AllSet Learning

Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.

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