In [[linguistics]], '''modal particles''' are always [[uninflected word]]s, and are a type of [[grammatical particle]]. They are used to indicate how the speaker thinks that the content of the sentence relates to the participants' [[grounding in communication|common knowledge]].<ref>Fabian Bross (2012): [http://helikon-online.de/2012/Bross_Particles.pdf German modal particles and the common ground]. In: [[Helikon]]. A Multidisciplinary Online Journal, 2. 182-209.</ref> Languages that use a lot of modal particles in their spoken form include [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[German language|German]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]] and [[Japanese language|Japanese]].<ref>[http://dutchcentre.group.shef.ac.uk/advanced.dutch.grammar/mod_par.php?PHPSESSID=c40f574d03dcb5ffb37b8e924fde3caaAdvanced Dutch Grammar:politeness - Beleefdheid Modal particle - Modale partikels] retrieved 2009-01-01 and [https://books.google.com/books?id=Q7MVBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT3&lpg=PT3&dq=modal+particles+chinese&source=bl&ots=treIAN1LOu&sig=uNoqM32peFpcRG3_SU9exkf13ik&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAjgKahUKEwiG_6DZwpDHAhXDcD4KHafsCuM#v=onepage&q=modal%20particles%20chinese&f=false Modal Particles By Keith Robinson, Wang Lingli] retrieved 2015-08-04 </ref> The [[untranslatability|translation is often not straightforward]] and depends on the context.
