# 啊 / 呀



## ekdog2

Hi everyone, I was just wondering when do I use 啊 versus 呀? I noticed in the dictionary that for 呀，it says that it is used after a vowel, but I see 啊 used after a vowel sometimes too. For example, "学习也很好啊。"

Thank you


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## Kitschcide

From where I stand, you can interchange these two characters on most occasions without altering the meaning of a sentence too much.
e.g.
学习也很好啊。
学习也很好呀。
they mean basically the same thing to me.
Actually, I don't undestand what you mean by saying 'using after and before vowel'. At least I never know this rule...

Here are some differences that may help(P.S. I just write these differences by myself without checking references, so I don't promise it's 100% correct.):
1. '啊' is more formal than '呀'.
You can see '啊' in literatures like poems, while '呀' is generally used when we talking in daily life.
e.g.
有些人啊，总想搞个大新闻。
有些人呀，总想搞个大新闻。
2. '呀' contians a sense of surprise which may lead to some bad consequences. On the other hand, '啊' helps to emphasize.
e.g.
哎呀，我忘了吃药。(here you can only use '呀' after '哎')
呀，这道题我做错了。
啊，这药真苦啊。
啊，这道题好难啊。

I have to say the differences are really subtle and it's really hard to describe these differences.
And as I've mentioned before, on most occasions I believe there are interchangeable.
Good luck


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## Manfred.Th

I agree with Kitschcide. For me, 啊 and 呀 are the same thing.


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## SuperXW

ekdog2 said:


> ...it says that it is used after a vowel"


The only reason for someone to make such a conclusion seems that, there is a "y" sound in 呀, which may occasionally make "ya" more clear than "a".
打啊 da3 a1: "a" sound may stick together.
打呀 da3 ya1: "y" separates two "a"s.
But, actually, it doesn't matter to most Chinese expressions at all. So the rule is not correct.


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## brofeelgood

- (A) 我的妈呀! vs (B) 我的妈啊!

- (A) 天啊，这太可怕了! vs (B) 天呀，这太可怕了!

In both cases, I think I'd only say (A).


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## SuperXW

我的妈呀 is indeed more fluent than 我的妈啊, due to the reason I've explained.
Both 天啊 and 天呀 are ok to me. Plus, 天呐 (na) is also quite common.


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## Skatinginbc

I tend to say 呀 rather than 啊 when it follows /i/ (e.g., 對呀, 會呀, 一呀二啊三哪).  It facilitates a smoother transition (i.e., /-i/ + /j-/) and clearer distinction between words. In agreement with Bro's #5, I also tend to say 呀 rather than 啊 when it is preceded by /a/ (e.g., 媽呀, 打呀). As SuperXW already pointed out, /-a/ + /a-/ may "stick" or blend together and become acoustically blurred.


ekdog2 said:


> I noticed in the dictionary that for 呀，it says that it is used after a vowel


True, if one intends to enunciate or make sure the pronunciation is both clear and fluid (for example, in a speech contest). Post-vocalic 啊 sounds "blurry" or "unrefined" (e.g., /a/ + /a/ sounds like /a:/ unless they are sepatated by a fleeting glotal stop, which unfortunately would break the fluidity of the utterance).  Not all situations require refinement or enunciation.  There are situations where crudeness is actually preferred.  For example, I would naturally shout "打啊! 殺啊!" on a battleground.  However, I would say "打呀?  怎麼不打了呢?", in which 呀 is "marked" (i.e., an emphasized or enunciated 啊), with a sarcastic interrogative function.

For me, 天哪 is natural, 天啊 acceptable, and 天呀 contrived.


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## Skatinginbc

brofeelgood said:


> (A) 我的妈呀! vs (B) 我的妈啊!...I think I'd only say (A).


Agree.  Interestingly, if the context is changed to 我的媽呀/啊就生來命苦  (Speaking of my mother, she was born into a hard life), I would only say 啊 rather than 呀.  The context calls for an "unmarked" (unstressed, not emphasized) filler (啊).

To sum up, we may roughly treat post-vocalic 呀 as a "marked" form of 啊.  The marked form is a rhetorical device signaling a rhetorical question (e.g., 打呀?) or a rhetorical exclamation (i.e., a response cry, e.g., 我的妈呀!).


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## retrogradedwithwind

Actually the prononciation of 啊 has many variants.


“啊”的变音规律

I cannot translate that... in a nutshell 啊 and 呀 are just one character in standard Chinese.


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## Skatinginbc

“啊”的变音规律: "啊字的前一个音节是zi、ci、si时，读[zɑ]." ==> "四啊" 真的讀 "四咂"?? "撕啊" 真的讀 "撕咂" (/si-za/, [sɨ-t͡sɑ])?? 沒聽過!!

我讀: 四啊 [ɹa] ([ɹ] alveolar approximant 非卷舌), as opposed to 二啊 [ɻa] (retroflex approximant [ɻ] 卷舌).  總之, “啊”的變音對我而言必須是 "sonorant + a" (i.e., "nasal + a" (e.g., /na/, /ŋa/), 或 "approximant + a" (e.g., [ja], [wa], [ɰa], [ɹa], [ɻa])).  “啊” 讀成 "obstruent + a" (e.g., /za/) 會讓我聽不懂.


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## retrogradedwithwind

关于啊的变音，好像还有其他说法，可以百度一下。就我个人而言，啊呀哇 ra , 相对是比较熟的。za也不太熟。或许有人熟吧。

关于za, 网上俗语，把小婊子，写成小婊砸。或可参考。


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## Skatinginbc

retrogradedwithwind said:


> 关于za, 网上俗语，把小婊子，写成小婊砸。或可参考。


那是 "小婊砸" (syllabic /z/ 子 + /a/ = /za/ 砸), 不是 "小婊子砸," which 我聽不懂.


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## SuperXW

那篇文章明显是很牵强地吧连读规律夸大了，夸大中带着错误，你造吗（网传台湾腔说“你知道吗”）？


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## Skatinginbc

原來如此， 謝啦，SuperXW.


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