也罢 (yě bà) — (fixed expression) all right, never mind (used alone to concede); in the pattern A也罢，B也罢 or 不管是A也罢，还是B — 'whether A or B'

Definition

Used alone to concede ('never mind, all right') or paired in an A也罢，B也罢 frame to mean 'whether A or B, either way'. The pairing variant always splits around the two items being listed.

idiom
(fixed expression) all rightnever mind (used alone to concede)in the pattern A也罢B也罢 or 不管是A也罢还是B — 'whether A or B'

Examples

  • A:。B:也罢，。
    A: zhè ge tài guì le. B: yě bà, nà wǒ men bù mǎi le.
    A: This is too expensive. B: Never mind, we won't buy it.
  • 也罢，，。
    Bù guǎn shì qù yě bà, hái shì bú qù, dōu yào tí qián gào sù wǒ men.
    Whether you go or not, let us know in advance.
  • 也罢，，。
    Bù guǎn shì qíng tiān yě bà, hái shì xià yǔ, bǐ sài dōu huì jìn xíng.
    Whether it's sunny or rainy, the game will go on.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

也 originally showed a child crying with an open mouth, with the arms later dropped and the parts fused.

Open 也 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罷; 罢 is its simplified writing.

The story is about the traditional form 罷: 网 (a net) and 能 are placed together to show catching a bear with a net. The simplified 罢 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罢 →

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