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ma

  1. modal particle question particle (turns a statement into a yes-no question)

    你是学生吗?

    Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    Are you a student?

  2. modal particle 是吗/对吗: tag question after a statement (right?)

    你喜欢汉语,是吗?

    Nǐ xǐhuan Hànyǔ, shì ma?

    You like Chinese, right?

  3. modal particle 好吗: asking for consent (okay?)

    请帮帮我,好吗?

    Qǐng bāngbang wǒ, hǎo ma?

    Please help me, okay?

  4. modal particle particle reinforcing a rhetorical question

    难道你不知道吗?

    Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?

    Don't tell me you don't know?

  5. modal particle particle at a mid-sentence pause, introducing a topic

    这件衣服吗,我觉得有点贵。

    Zhè jiàn yīfu ma, wǒ juéde yǒudiǎn guì.

    As for this dress, I think it's a bit expensive.

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