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How to Say ‘Go ahead’ in Simplified Chinese

你说吧

nǐ shuō ba

[nee shuō ba]

💬 Usage Tip: Adding 吧 (ba) to the end of an instruction turns a command into a friendly nudge. Compare 你说 "you speak" with the gentler 你说吧 "go ahead". It works the same way with other verbs: 你来吧 (nǐ lái ba) "you do it".

Phrase Breakdown

你

nǐ

[nee]

you

The informal or neutral word for “you,” suitable for peers or casual conversation.

Example

如果对方和你年纪差不多,可以说“认识你”。

If the other person is about your age, you can say “nice to meet you” with 你.

说

shuō

[shuō]

to speak; to say

Here used to invite someone to go ahead and talk.

Example

你先说,我听着。

You speak first, I'm listening.

吧

ba

[ba]

(suggestion particle)

Sentence-final particle that softens a suggestion, like 'how about' or 'let's'.

Example

我们走吧。

Let's go.

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