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嘛

ma / má

嘛ma

1. modal particle particle: the reason is obvious

   有话就直说嘛。

   Yǒu huà jiù zhí shuō ma.

   If you have something to say, just say it.

2. modal particle particle: urging or coaxing

   你去不去嘛？

   Nǐ qù bù qù ma?

   Come on, are you going or not?

3. modal particle mid-sentence particle introducing a topic (as for...)

   这件事情嘛，我们得好好想想。

   Zhè jiàn shìqing ma, wǒmen děi hǎohǎo xiǎngxiang.

   As for this matter, we need to think it over carefully.

4. modal particle particle of concession or acceptance (after all)

   贵是贵了点儿，质量好嘛。

   Guì shì guì le diǎnr, zhìliàng hǎo ma.

   It's a bit expensive, but the quality is good after all.

嘛má

1. interrogative pronoun 干嘛: why; what for (colloquial)

   你干嘛那样看着我？

   Nǐ gànmá nàyàng kàn zhe wǒ?

   Why are you looking at me like that?

The full ChinesePath dictionary entry for 嘛 includes audio for every reading and example sentence, more example sentences, collocations, synonyms and links to the course units where it is taught.