吧 bā / ba — (onomat.); dumb; (modal particle indicating polite suggestion); ...right?; ...OK?
我们一起去吃饭吧。Wǒ men yì qǐ qù chī fàn ba.Let us go eat together.
Common words: 酒吧 (jiǔ bā)、网吧 (wǎng bā)、吧主 (bā zhǔ)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "onomat."
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "onomat.", including 吧 (bā / ba), 啦 (lā / la), 哩 (lī / lǐ / li), 哑 (yā / yǎ), 喀 (kā). Study pinyin…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "onomat." covers 5 different Chinese characters — 吧 (bā / ba), 啦 (lā / la), 哩 (lī / lǐ / li), 哑 (yā / yǎ), 喀 (kā) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bā, ba, lā, la, lī, lǐ, and more — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 吧 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 吧 bā / ba(onomat.); dumb; (modal particle indicating polite suggestion); ...right?; ...OK?Useful words: 酒吧, 网吧
- 啦 lā / la(onomat.); (phonetic); (an auxiliary word performing the grammatical functions of mood); fusion of le + aUseful words: 啦啦队, 卡啦
- 哩 lī / lǐ / li(onomat.); mile; (part. for continued state)Useful words: 加哩, 机哩瓜拉
- 哑 yā / yǎ(onomat.); dumb; muteUseful words: 聋哑, 哑子
- 喀 kā(onomat.)Useful words: 喀斯特, 喀啦喀啦
Common words for these 5 "onomat." characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 吧 (bā / ba) — so "onomat." turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
酒吧jiǔ bābar (place to buy drinks)网吧wǎng bāInternet café吧主bā zhǔmessage board moderator or administrator啦啦队lā lā duìcheerleading squad卡啦kǎ lācrispy, deep-fried呼啦啦hū lā lāflapping sound加哩jiā lǐ(loanword) curry机哩瓜拉jī lī guā lā(Taiwan) see 叽哩咕噜哩哩罗罗lī lī luō luōendless mumbling (onom.); verbose and incomprehensible; talking endlessly聋哑lóng yǎdeaf and nonverbal
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 5 ways to say "onomat.".
啦 lā / la — (onomat.); (phonetic); (an auxiliary word performing the grammatical functions of mood); fusion of le + a
太好啦，我们终于成功了！Tài hǎo la, wǒ men zhōng yú chéng gōng le!Great, we finally succeeded!
Common words: 啦啦队 (lā lā duì)、卡啦 (kǎ lā)、呼啦啦 (hū lā lā)
哩 lī / lǐ / li — (onomat.); mile; (part. for continued state)
别着急，他还在路上呢，离这儿远着哩。Bié zháo jí, tā hái zài lù shàng ne, lí zhèr yuǎn zhe li.Do not worry; he is still on the way and quite far from here.
Common words: 加哩 (jiā lǐ)、机哩瓜拉 (jī lī guā lā)、哩哩罗罗 (lī lī luō luō)
哑 yā / yǎ — (onomat.); dumb; mute
喊了一上午，他的嗓子都哑了。Hǎn le yí shàng wǔ, tā de sǎng zi dōu yǎ le.After shouting all morning, his voice became hoarse.
Common words: 聋哑 (lóng yǎ)、哑子 (yǎ zi)、哑点 (yǎ diǎn)
喀 kā — (onomat.)
喀嚓一声，他按下了照相机的快门。Kā chā yì shēng, tā àn xià le zhào xiàng jī de kuài mén.With a click, he pressed the camera shutter.
Common words: 喀斯特 (kā sī tè)、喀啦喀啦 (kā lā kā lā)、喀哒 (kā dā)
All 5 characters
Open 吧、啦、哩 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.