---
title: "Chinese particles: 14 Everyday Particles by Kind, With Pinyin and Audio"
description: "14 everyday Chinese particles by kind (at the end of a sentence, after a verb, linking words), each with pinyin, meaning and sound, and where they go in a sentence. Keep them in one press or print them as flashcards."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-particles"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 14 particles

# Chinese particles

The small words that turn a statement into a question, mark time and link words.

[Print as flashcards](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-flashcards?level=mine&words=%E5%95%8A%20%E5%90%97%20%E5%90%A7%20%E5%91%A2%20%E5%95%A6%20%E5%91%80%20%E5%98%9B%20%E4%BA%86%20%E7%9D%80%20%E8%BF%87%20%E7%9A%84%20%E5%9C%B0%20%E5%BE%97%20%E6%89%80)

## At the end of a sentence

- [啊a(particle) at the end of a sentence, softens it or shows feeling](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%95%8A)
- [吗ma(particle) marks a yes-no question](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%90%97)
- [吧ba(particle) suggests: let's; why don't you](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%90%A7)
- [呢ne(particle) for questions about something just mentioned: and ...?; what about](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%91%A2)
- [啦la(particle) combination of 了 and 啊, expressing completion with emotion](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%95%A6)
- [呀ya(particle) variant of 啊 after a vowel sound](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%91%80)
- [嘛ma(particle) indicates something obvious (as in 本来就是嘛)](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%98%9B)

## After a verb

- [了le(particle) marks a completed action](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%BA%86)
- [着zhe(particle) marks an ongoing action or state](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%9D%80)
- [过guò(particle) marks a past experience: have ever](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%BF%87)

## Linking words

- [的de(particle) marks possession or description: 's; of](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E7%9A%84)
- [地de(particle) marks an adverb: -ly](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%9C%B0)
- [得de(particle) links a verb or adjective to a complement of degree or result](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%BE%97)
- [所suǒ(particle) before a verb, forms a noun phrase: what; that which](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%89%80)

## What do 吗, 呢 and 吧 do?

吗 turns a statement into a yes-no question: 你好吗？(how are you?). 呢 asks “and you?” or “what about …?”: 我很好，你呢？ 吧 suggests or checks: 我们走吧 (let’s go), 你是老师吧？(you’re a teacher, right?).

## What is the difference between 的, 地 and 得?

All three are said de. 的 comes before a noun: 我的书 (my book). 地 comes before a verb, like “-ly”: 慢慢地走 (walk slowly). 得 comes after a verb, before how it was done: 他说得很好 (he speaks well).

## What does 了 do?

After a verb, 了 marks a finished action: 我吃了饭 (I ate). At the end of a sentence, it marks a change: 下雨了 (it’s started raining). 过 says you have done something before, 着 that something is going on.

## More words

- [Chinese pronouns](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-pronouns)
- [Chinese conjunctions](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-conjunctions)
- [Chinese grammar patterns](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

Ordered by our own count of Chinese web text (FineWeb-2, ODC-By). Meanings from our own dictionary.