呀

yā, ya

口 + 牙

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

ya (particle) (particle used after words ending in vowels, expressing surprise or doubt)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 牙 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 牙

About

呀 is a phonosemantic compound combining the mouth radical 口, which points to speech or vocalization, with the phonetic component 牙 (yá) that indicates its pronunciation. The character first emerged as an onomatopoeia for sounds like a creaking door or a surprised exclamation. Later, it developed into a grammatical sentence-final particle. In this role, it softens the tone of a statement or question, often emerging in spoken language as a natural phonetic assimilation after certain vowel sounds, blending seamlessly into the rhythm of speech without carrying independent semantic weight.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

天气真好呀！

Tiānqì zhēn hǎo ya!

The weather is really nice!

你在干什么呀？

Nǐ zài gàn shénme ya?

What are you doing?

这个电影好看呀！

Zhège diànyǐng hǎokàn ya!

This movie is interesting!

你快点来呀！

Nǐ kuài diǎn lái ya!

Come quickly!

哎呀，我忘了带钥匙。

Āi ya, wǒ wàng le dài yàoshi.

Oh no, I forgot to bring the keys.

你不知道呀，他已经走了。

Nǐ bù zhīdào ya, tā yǐjīng zǒu le.

You don't know, he has already left.

这难道不是你的错呀？

Zhè nándào bù shì nǐ de cuò ya?

Isn't this your fault?

你要是再不来呀，我们就不等你了。

Nǐ yàoshì zài bù lái ya, wǒmen jiù bù děng nǐ le.

If you don't come again, we won't wait for you.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 牙

呀