Modal particle 'mal'

What it is. mal (a shortened einmal) is an unstressed modal particle that makes a request casual, brief and unthreatening - roughly English "just" or "for a sec."

Main use. Softening commands and requests.

• Komm mal her! - Come here a sec!
• Warte mal! - Hang on a moment!
• Kannst du mir mal helfen? - Could you just help me for a second?

Common mistakes. It is informal, so avoid it in formal writing. Do not confuse particle mal with the temporal/numeral mal (= times, once: zwei mal drei, Warst du schon mal dort?). It stays unstressed in the middle field; piling it up with other particles (komm doch mal) is natural in speech but should be used sparingly in writing.

'mal' makes a request casual and brief ('just').

Makes a request casual and brief; unstressed in the Mittelfeld.

'mal' macht eine Bitte beiläufig und kurz.