Sentence-Final Particles: 啦, 喔 and 咧

01

啦 — Settling the Matter

啦 (--lah--lah--lah4) closes something off: agreement, mild insistence, or softening an apology. It is what you say when the matter is settled.

• 好啦。

  hó --lahhó --lahho2 --lah4

  Fine, then.

• 歹勢啦，我對海產過敏。

  pháinn-sè --lah guá tuì hái-sán kuè-bínphaíⁿ-sè --lah góa tùi hái-sán kòe-bínphainn2-se3 --lah4 gua2 tui3 hai2-san2 kue3-bin2

  Sorry — I'm allergic to seafood.

02

喔 — Noting and Confirming

喔 (ooho͘hooh4) marks mild surprise or invites confirmation — close to English oh? or a rising right?

• 真正喔？

  tsin-tsiànn --oohchin-chiàⁿ --o͘htsin1-tsiann3 --ooh4

  Really?

• 你佇咧遮食頭路喔？

  lí tī-leh tsia tsia̍h thâu-lōo oohlí tī-leh chia chia̍h thâu-lō͘ o͘hli2 ti7-leh4 tsia1 tsiah8 thau5-loo7 ooh4

  So you work here?

• 好喔，來去。

  hó --ooh lâi khìhó --o͘h lâi khìho2 --ooh4 lai5 khi3

  All right then — let's go.

03

咧 — Softening, and 'And You?'

咧 (--leh--leh--leh4) turns an order into a request, taking the edge off an imperative. Separately, after a noun it forms the very useful and what about …?

• 請講較大聲咧。

  tshiánn kóng khah tuā-siann --lehchhiáⁿ kóng khah tōa-siaⁿ --lehtshiann2 kong2 khah4 tua7-siann1 --leh4

  Please speak a bit louder.

• 你咧？

  lí lehlí lehli2 leh4

  And you?

04

啊 — the Softener, Against 矣

啊 (--ah--ah--ah4) is a general softener on a reply, easy to confuse with the change-of-state 矣 (--ah--ah--ah4) since both are written --ah. Context separates them: after a full sentence reporting something new it is 矣 (--ah--ah--ah4); tacked onto a short answer it is the softener.

05

Not Decorative

A sentence with every particle stripped out is grammatical but curt, and learners who avoid them often sound colder than they mean to. Copy them from the audio rather than working out from a rule when each applies.

06

Toneless

These particles carry no tone of their own and cannot be stressed or said in isolation. Say them lightly, attached to the word before. You will see them written both ways, with the double hyphen and without — --leh beside leh, --ooh beside ooh. It is the same toneless syllable either way; only the spelling wavers.