About

The word "罢了" is formed through the conceptual fusion of two characters: "罢", which carries the core meaning of stopping or ceasing an action, and "了", which marks a sense of completion or finality. When combined, they move beyond their literal meanings to create a single expressive unit that conceptually "waves something away" or marks a matter as concluded for the purpose of the conversation. It forms not through grammatical rules, but through a rhetorical and pragmatic evolution, where the idea of "stopping it there" transforms into a spoken gesture of understatement, dismissal, or limiting the scope of what has been said, embodying a tone of resignation or downplaying.

Example Sentences Hide

他只是累了罢了

Ta1 zhi3 shi4 lei4 le bàle.

He is just tired, that's all.

我不过是想帮忙罢了

Wo3 bu2guo4 shi4 xiang3 bang1mang2 bàle.

I just want to help, that's all.

她这么说罢了,你别当真。

Ta1 zhe4 me shuo1 bàle, ni3 bie2 dang4zhen1.

She just said that, don't take it seriously.

如果你不想去,不去罢了

Ru2guo3 ni3 bu4 xiang3 qu4, bu4 qu4 bàle.

If you don't want to go, just don't go.

虽然他说得严重,但不过是小事罢了

Sui1ran2 ta1 shuo1 de yan2zhong4, dan4 bu2guo4 shi4 xiao3 shi4 bàle.

Although he made it sound serious, it's just a small matter.

Word Definition - 罢了

bà liǎo a modal particle indicating (that's all, only, nothing much); a modal particle indicating (don't mind it, ok)

Individual Character Details