Bounce back questions with 呢
The main use for 呢 is to bounce back questions at someone.
In this case, its use is very similar to the “and you?” in English, when you’re directly returning the question to someone. More generally, 呢 is also very close to "how about" or "what about" in English. You'll see, it's a handy little bugger.
Structure
Statement/Topic + 呢
Just hang it at the end.
Examples
我 去 吃饭。你 呢？I’m going to eat. How about you?
你 爸爸 好 吗？你 妈妈 呢？ How’s your dad? And your mom?我 呢？ What about me?
Convenient, no?
Now that you have 呢 down pat, let’s move on to 吧 and its mysterious power.
The power of 吧
There's this notion in Chinese that one shouldn't be too direct or upfront, to avoid placing the other in an uncomfortable situation, where they might risk losing face.
An easy way to avoid that? Use 吧.
This convenient particle is placed at the end of sentences, to either indicate what you're saying is a suggestion and by no mean an order, or simply to soften your speech, or to concede.
We owe you a lucky cat if you don't start hearing 吧 everywhere in Chinese the moment you learn it.
Suggesting
Structure
Command + 吧
This use of 吧 is very similar to how in English we would use "let's". It just makes your sentence sound more like a suggestion.
Examples
我们 走 吧。 Let’s go for a walk.
给 我 两 个 吧。Give me two (please).走 吧。Let’s go.你 去 吧。 You go.我们 去 旅游 吧。 Let's travel!天 太 晚 了，我们 明天 再 去 跑步 吧。It's too late now, let's go running tomorrow.咱们 去 吃饭 吧。Let’s go eat!
Softening speech
The particle 吧 is also used to soften the feel of a sentence. This is particularly useful when you need to make your sentence more polite, gentler or less forceful.
structure
Statement + 吧
Examples
快 点 吧。Hurry up.
太 贵 了 吧，我 不 买 了。It’s too expensive, I’m not buying that.算了 吧。 Forget it.
Conceding
吧 can also be used to show you're accepting to do something or agreeing to something that you're not particularly happy about.
Structure
Statement + 吧
Examples
行 吧，那 就 一起 去。 Alright, let's go there together.
好 吧，现在 去 吃饭。 Ok, let's go eat now. (You would’ve liked to finish what you were doing first but ok, you’ll go eat).
Lastly, in a question, adding 吧 usually shows that you're expecting a positive answer.
你 没 事 吧？ Are you okay?
(expected answer) 没事儿。I'm okay.