Modal particles in German: What are they and how to use them?

You’ll most commonly encounter the modal particle doch in sentences that offer a contrast. It’s got the power to turn around a no. This example most people with a sibling might remember from their childhood with will show you how:

See what doch does here? It counters a negative statement and states that the negative statement mentioned earlier is actually true.

But that’s not the only ability it brings to the table. Let’s look at some of the others:

• In some instances, doch functions as a softener in requests and commands, similar to how “could you…?” acts as a kind way to ask for something:

  Mach doch bitte das Licht an.

  Could you turn on the lights, please?

• You can also use doch to stress a turn of events, similar to trotzdem(anyway). Let’s say you originally planned not to go to your friend’s birthday party but eventually decided to go anyway. You could talk about your decision saying something like this:

  Schlussendlich bin ich doch gegangen.

  Eventually, I did go after all.

  While there was a time when I didn’t plan to join the celebrations, you eventually changed your mind. Omitting doch from the example still forms a perfectly correct sentence, but it takes away this link to an earlier point in an event or conversation where you still had the intention to stay home.

• Yet another use of doch is within an affirmative question, often in combination with oder?(right?) at the end. This can go something like this:

  Du hast doch ein E-Bike, oder? Kann ich das mal ausleihen?

  You have an e-bike, don't you? Can I borrow it?

  This is similar to asking a question that could potentially receive a negative answer and then using doch to confirm that the response is in fact positive.

In German, you can use halt to express a feeling of resignation.

Say your boss has you working overtime once again. You’d rather join the soccer training or go to your favorite pizza place, but there’s work that’s to be done, and you know it. So you’ll say:

Now isn’t that a useful word! Another use of halt is in stating something without providing additional information. Here’s what this means:

Though not everyone will agree with this statement — there are people who prefer a cup of tea or a glass of milk to get their day started. So you can understand this use of halt as presenting something as a matter of fact without providing any clarification or context.

The modal particle mal is derived from einmal(once) and you might know it from its uses as an adverbNo definition set for adverbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., such as this one:

However, used as a modal particle, mal primarily serves two purposes:

• First, it’s used to soften a request or command, just like doch:

  Komm mal her!

  Come here (for a moment)!

  Using mal is slightly less soft than using doch, but the two can also be combined for an extra serving of politeness:

  Komm doch mal her!

  Why don’t you come here?

  → We’ll go through some more examples of modal particles that can be combined below!

• Second, you can use mal to express that an action is performed casually, without spending too much time or to give something a try (similar to English “real quick”):

  • Ich geh mal kurz duschen.

    I’ll go take a shower (real quick).

  • Ich kann mir das mal anschauen.

    I can have a (quick) look.

  TipSound like a native:

  Do you have to go to the bathroom? Then say Ich muss mal. This is the colloquial way of letting others know you have some important (personal) business to attend to!

You know this one as the German word for “yes”. But actually, this unassuming word can do a lot more than simply giving an affirmative answer.

• One way of using ja is in expressing common knowledge.

  Wir haben das ja so abgemacht.

  That’s what we agreed on.

  By adding ja to this sentence, we’re stressing that this is something that we both know was agreed on earlier. The ja in the next sentence serves a similar purpose:

  Ich komm dich gerne abholen, der Flughafen ist ja nicht weit weg.

  I'd be happy to pick you up, the airport isn’t far away.

  We both know where I’m located and we both know where the airport is. This shared knowledge is emphasized through the addition of ja.

• You can also use ja to express surprise, for example if your friend finally got a new haircut:

  Du hast ja einen neuen Haarschnitt!

  (Oh!) You've got a new haircut!

  While you can express surprise by simply using the tone of your voice, you can add extra emphasis by adding this short word. It’s powerful indeed!

• Yet another way of using ja is in tag questions, which are little questions that check that your understanding is correct, like “right?” or “yeah?” in English.

  Du hast nächste Woche Geburtstag, ja?

  It’s your birthday next week, yeah?

  By using ja in this way, we want to confirm that whatever we just said is indeed true. Some similar tag questions in German might be Oder? or Nicht wahr?

• Finally, ja can also be used with a threatening undertone! Imagine you got your favorite chocolate at home and you know your brother or your sister love to secretly snack on your chocolate. Ja comes to the rescue!

  Iss ja nicht von meiner Schokolade!

  Oh yeah? Eat from my chocolate!

  When jais used in this way, it’s usually accompanied by additional stress: Iss JA nicht von meiner Schokolade! Who would have thought that such a simple word has so many different usages! Das ist ja unglaublich!

The modal particle aber can be used to express surprise.

For example, you’re stopping at a pretty little restaurant on your next city trip in Germany and you order a bottle of mineral water. Upon asking for the bill, you discover that the refreshment sets you back a whole 15 Euros. You’ll definitely say something like:

It does not necessarily have to be an unpleasant surprise, though. Do you remember that friend with the new haircut from earlier? It just so happens that it looks great on them! So you’ll tell them:

In both instances, the surprise also implies the idea that the mineral water was really expensive and that the haircut looks really good — more so than expected!

You can also use aber to express shock or reproach, in which case it comes right at the beginning of the sentence. This can be useful for a mother or father who is tired of hearing their children argue:

See how we snuck a doch into this sentence? Since modal particles help us to express our mood or attitude, they can readily be combined to give even more expression to our statements.

The modal particle eh serves as a colloquial alternative to sowieso(anyway):

Speaker B thinks it’s no big deal since they happened to have some spare time on their hands anyway. Don’t we all appreciate friends like this?

Here’s another example. You’re waiting in front of the cinema for your friend Karl to join, but it’s been a while and you don’t think he’s coming anymore. Here’s what you can say:

Whether you wait or not, it doesn’t make a difference. Karl isn’t coming anyway! To really make this modal particle shine, make sure to stress it with your intonation as well.

You might know the word eigentlich from its use expressing “actually”. However, it’s also a commonly used modal particle expressing interest or curiosity. If you’re curious about something and you want to ask, you can add eigentlich to emphasize this: