嘛

ma

HSK 6

嘛 — ma

1. modal particle (ma5) used at the end of a sentence to indicate that something is obvious, to soften a statement, or to add emphasis/a pause

   他当然会来嘛，已经答应了。 tā dāngrán huìlái ma yǐjīng dāyìng le — Of course he'll come — he already agreed.

嘛 — má

1. used in the Buddhist mantra '唵嘛呢叭咪吽' (om mani padme hum)

   唵嘛呢叭咪吽是藏传佛教常念的咒语。 ǎn ma ne ba mī hōng shì cángchuánfójiào chángniàn de zhòuyǔ — Om mani padme hum is a mantra commonly recited in Tibetan Buddhism.

2. (Taiwan, colloquial) what?; used to ask for clarification or express surprise

   你说什么嘛？我没听清楚。 nǐ shuō shénme ma wǒ méi tīng qīngchǔ — What did you say? I didn't hear clearly.