吧

吧 U+5427, 吧 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5427 ← 否 [U+5426] CJK Unified Ideographs 吨 → [U+5428]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

吧 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+4, 7 strokes, Cangjie input 口日山 (RAU), four-corner 6701₇, composition ⿰口巴)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 178, character 4
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3341
• Dae Jaweon: page 395, character 12
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 596, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5427

Chinese

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (巴) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
巴	*praː
芭	*praː
笆	*praː, *braːʔ
豝	*praː
鈀	*praː, *pʰraː
吧	*praː, *pʰraː
蚆	*praː, *pʰraː
疤	*praː
把	*praːʔ
爸	*praːs, *baʔ
弝	*praːs
靶	*praːs
葩	*pʰraː
舥	*pʰraː
妑	*pʰraː
帊	*pʰraːs
琶	*braː
爬	*braː
杷	*braː, *braːs, *braːs
跁	*braːʔ, *braːs
耙	*braːs

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声 (xíngshēng)): semantic 口 (kǒu) + phonetic 巴 (OC *praː).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		吧
alternative forms		罷／罢

From 罷／罢 (bà) and 夫 (OC *ba, “is it not?”), itself a contraction of 不乎.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): ba (ba⁵／ba⁰)

  (Zhuyin): ˙ㄅㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baa⁶
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): pā / --pa

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ba⁷

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: ba
    • Zhuyin: ˙ㄅㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bå
    • Wade–Giles: pa⁵
    • Yale: ba
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: .ba
    • Palladius: ба (ba)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /b̥ä/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: baa⁶
    • Yale: bah
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baa⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ba⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paː²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pā
    • Tâi-lô: pā
    • Phofsit Daibuun: pa
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /pa³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: --pa
    • Tâi-lô: --pa
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ba⁷
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pā
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pa¹¹/

Definitions

吧 (chiefly Mandarin)

1. Emphatic final particle; used at the end of a sentence to
   1. indicate a suggested action: why don't you ...; let us ...

      你有時間再做吧。 [MSC, trad.]
      你有时间再做吧。 [MSC, simp.]

      Nǐ yǒu shíjiān zài zuò ba. [Pinyin]

      Do it when you have time.

      大家去工作吧。  ―  Dàjiā qù gōngzuò ba.  ―  Get to work, everybody.

      走吧！  ―  Zǒu ba!  ―  Let's go!

   2. indicate a speculation.

      門還沒鎖吧。／门还没锁吧。  ―  Mén hái méi suǒ ba.  ―  The door has not been locked, I guess.

2. Used at the end of a sentence used to concede a point.

   好吧！  ―  Hǎo ba!  ―  Alright!

   算了吧。  ―  Suànle ba.  ―  Whatever.

3. Used at the end of a sentence used to indicate disapproving incredulousness.

   不是吧！  ―  Bù shì ba!  ―  No way!

4. Used after the topic for emphasis.

   他這人吧，脾氣不太好。 [MSC, trad.]
   他这人吧，脾气不太好。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā zhè rén ba, píqì bù tài hǎo. [Pinyin]

   He is not that good-tempered a person.

Usage notes

• Adoption into Cantonese has been increasing, especially in Mainland China.

Synonyms

• (imperative): (Hokkien) 好 (hó), 乎 (hohⁿ / hôⁿ / hōⁿ / hoⁿ)

Dialectal synonyms of 吧 (“(sentence-final particle used with a command or suggestion)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		吧
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	吧
	Taiwan	吧
	Singapore	啦, 吧
Cantonese	Guangzhou	啦
	Hong Kong	啦
	Singapore (Guangfu)	啦
Southern Min	Xiamen	閣
	Quanzhou	唷
	Zhangzhou	閣
	Taipei	喔
	Kaohsiung	喔
	Singapore (Hokkien)	啦
	Manila (Hokkien)	唷, 閣

• (speculation): (Hokkien, Teochew) 閣／阁 (koh), 唷 (ió / ó), 好 (hó), 乎 (hohⁿ / hôⁿ / hōⁿ / hoⁿ)

Dialectal synonyms of 吧 (“(sentence-final particle indicating speculation)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		吧
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	吧
	Malaysia	啩
	Singapore	吧
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	吧
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	吧
Cantonese	Guangzhou	啩
	Hong Kong	啩
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	啩
	Taishan	估啊
	Kaiping (Chikan)	估啊
	Enping (Niujiang)	估啊
	Dongguan	啩

• (incredulousness): (Cantonese) 啊嘛 (aa6 maa5), (Hokkien, Teochew) 啦 (--la / --lah), 啊 (--a / --ah)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		吧

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baa¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ba
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • Palladius: ба (ba)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: baa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ba¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paː⁵⁵/

Definitions

吧

1. (onomatopoeia) sound of crackling; crack

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): biā (bia¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄧㄚ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: biā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄧㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bia
    • Wade–Giles: pia¹
    • Yale: byā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bia
    • Palladius: бя (bja)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pi̯ä⁵⁵/

Definitions

吧

1. (onomatopoeia) pow!; smack!

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		吧

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baa¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ba
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • Palladius: ба (ba)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: baa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ba¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paː⁵⁵/

Definitions

吧

1. (dialectal) to smoke (a cigarette)

Etymology 4

simp. and trad.		吧

Borrowed from English bar.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): baa¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): pâ
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): pa

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ba¹

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹pa

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ba
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • Palladius: ба (ba)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: baa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Cantonese Pinyin: baa¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ba¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paː⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: pâ
    • Hakka Romanization System: ba^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ba¹
    • Sinological IPA: /pa²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pa
    • Tâi-lô: pa
    • Phofsit Daibuun: paf
    • Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /pa⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /pa³³/
    • Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /pa⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /pa⁴⁴/
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /pa⁴⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ba¹
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pa
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pa³³/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹pa
    • MiniDict: pa^平
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹pa
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /pa⁵³/

Definitions

吧

1. bar

   酒吧  ―  jiǔbā  ―  bar; pub

   貼吧／贴吧  ―  tiēbā  ―  internet board (literally, “posting bar”)

   玩具吧  ―  wánjù bā  ―  toy shop

2. short for 貼吧／贴吧 (Tiēbā, “internet board”)
3. Used in transcription.

   迪吧  ―  díbā  ―  diva

Compounds

• 吧檯 / 吧台 (bātái)
• 氧吧 (yǎngbā)
• 網吧 / 网吧 (wǎngbā)
• 貼吧 / 贴吧 (Tiēbā)
• 迪吧 (díbā)
• 迷你吧 (mínǐbā)
• 酒吧 (jiǔbā)

Etymology 5

simp. and trad.		吧

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bā (ba¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄚ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bā
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ba
    • Wade–Giles: pa¹
    • Yale: bā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ba
    • Palladius: ба (ba)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pä⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: pae

Rime
Character	吧
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	伯加切
Baxter	pae
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pˠa/
Pan Wuyun	/pᵚa/
Shao Rongfen	/pa/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/paɨ/
Li Rong	/pa/
Wang Li	/pa/
Bernhard Karlgren	/pa/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	bā
Expected Cantonese Reflex	baa1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*praː/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	吧
Reading #	1/2
No.	102
Phonetic component	巴
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	巴
Old Chinese	/*praː/

Definitions

吧

1. only used in 吧呀

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): pā (pa¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄆㄚ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: pā
    • Zhuyin: ㄆㄚ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: pa
    • Wade–Giles: pʻa¹
    • Yale: pā
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: pa
    • Palladius: па (pa)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pʰä⁵⁵/

---

• Middle Chinese: phae

Rime
Character	吧
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	滂 (2)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	普巴切
Baxter	phae
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pʰˠa/
Pan Wuyun	/pʰᵚa/
Shao Rongfen	/pʰa/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/pʰaɨ/
Li Rong	/pʰa/
Wang Li	/pʰa/
Bernhard Karlgren	/pʰa/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	pā
Expected Cantonese Reflex	paa1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*pʰraː/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	吧
Reading #	2/2
No.	113
Phonetic component	巴
Rime group	魚
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	葩
Old Chinese	/*pʰraː/

Definitions

吧

1. only used in 吧呀

Japanese

Kanji

吧

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• Go-on: は (ha)
• Kan-on: は (ha)

Korean

Hanja

吧 (eum 파 (pa))

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

吧: Hán Việt readings: ba
吧: Nôm readings: và, vài, bơ, ba

Etymology 1

Combining form

吧 • (bơ)

1. chữ Nôm form of bơ (“used in bơ vơ (“forsaken; lonely; helpless”)”)

Etymology 2

Conjunction

吧 • (và)

1. chữ Nôm form of và (“and”)

Etymology 3

Verb

吧 • (và)

1. chữ Nôm form of và (“to shovel food from a rice bowl into one's mouth using a pair of chopsticks”)