罢了【bàle】

罢了 goes at the end of a statement and shrinks it: "that's all", "nothing more". Earlier in the sentence 只是, 不过 or 只不过 usually says the same thing, and 罢了 closes the frame. It's a little bookish; 而已 is the neutral equivalent, and 只不过 has its own point.

Playing down

罢了 makes something smaller than the listener thinks: a compliment, a worry, an accusation.

Only for playing down

罢了 always shrinks what it closes. Put it on something you mean to stress and the sentence contradicts itself.

• × 这是我最喜欢的一本书罢了 → 这是我最喜欢的一本书

Standing alone, 罢了 is an old-fashioned "never mind". In modern speech that is 算了.

• × 罢了，我们不去了 → 算了，我们不去了