Chinese grammar · Beginner (A1)
Asking questions
Questions keep the word order of statements: 吗 at the end, question words where the answer goes, A-not-A, 呢, 还是 and 吧.
吗: yes/no questions
The easiest question: take a statement and add (ma) at the end. The word order stays the same: (nǐ shì lǎoshī, you're a teacher) becomes (Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? Are you a teacher?).
Chinese has no general word for “yes” or “no”. To answer, repeat the verb or adjective: (shì) or (bú shì), (yǒu) or (méiyǒu), (hǎo) or (bù hǎo). To agree, you can also say (duì, right).
- 你是老师吗？Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?Are you a teacher?
- 你喝咖啡吗？Nǐ hē kāfēi ma?Do you drink coffee?
- 附近有地铁站吗？Fùjìn yǒu dìtiězhàn ma?Is there a metro station nearby?
Question words go where the answer goes
With a question word, put it in the place where the answer will be, and don't add . (Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? What's your name?) is answered (wǒ jiào Wáng Hào): takes the place of .
(jǐ) expects a small number, usually under ten, and needs a measure word: (jǐ ge). (duōshao) is for any number. (nǎr) is the northern word for “where”; (nǎlǐ) means the same and is common in the south.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (shénme) | what | (Nǐ yào shénme? What would you like?) |
| (shéi) | who | (Tā shì shéi? Who is he?) |
| (nǎr) | where | (Yínháng zài nǎr? Where's the bank?) |
| (nǎge) | which | (Nǐ yào nǎge? Which one would you like?) |
| (jǐ) | how many (small numbers) | (Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? How many people are in your family?) |
| (duōshao) | how many, how much | (Duōshao qián? How much is it?) |
| (zěnme) | how | (Qù huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu? How do I get to the train station?) |
| (zěnmeyàng) | how is it, what is it like | (Zhège cài zěnmeyàng? How's this dish?) |
| (wèishénme) | why | (Nǐ wèishénme bú qù? Why aren't you going?) |
| (shénme shíhou) | when | (Nǐ shénme shíhou lái? When are you coming?) |
| (jǐ diǎn) | what time | (Nǐ jǐ diǎn xiàbān? What time do you finish work?) |
| (duō dà) | how old | (Nǐ duō dà? How old are you?) |
A-not-A questions
Another way to ask a yes/no question is to say the verb or adjective twice, with in between: (Nǐ hē bu hē kāfēi? Do you drink coffee?). The is light. For (yǒu), use (yǒu méiyǒu). Don't add to these questions.
With a two-syllable word, you can repeat just the first syllable: (xǐ bu xǐhuan, like it or not). A-not-A sounds a little more direct than and is common when offering a choice: (Yào bu yào? Do you want it?).
- 你喝不喝咖啡？Nǐ hē bu hē kāfēi?Do you drink coffee?
- 苹果新鲜不新鲜？Píngguǒ xīnxiān bu xīnxiān?Are the apples fresh?
- 你有没有微信？Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu Wēixìn?Do you have WeChat?
- 你喜不喜欢吃辣的？Nǐ xǐ bu xǐhuan chī là de?Do you like spicy food?
呢: and you?
(ne) after a noun or pronoun asks “and …?” or “what about …?”, picking up the topic you've just talked about: (Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne? I'm fine, and you?).
Asked out of the blue, after a thing asks where it is: (Wǒ de shǒujī ne? Where's my phone?).
- 我是上海人，你呢？Wǒ shì Shànghǎirén, nǐ ne?I'm from Shanghai. What about you?
- 我喝茶，你呢？Wǒ hē chá, nǐ ne?I'll have tea. And you?
- 我的手机呢？Wǒ de shǒujī ne?Where's my phone?
“Or”: 还是 and 或者
For “or” in a question that offers a choice, use (háishi): (Nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi? Tea or coffee?). Don't add .
In statements, “or” is (huòzhě): (wǒmen míngtiān huòzhě hòutiān qù, we'll go tomorrow or the day after). English uses one word for both, so this is an easy mistake to make.
- 大杯还是中杯？Dà bēi háishi zhōng bēi?Large or medium?
- 在这儿喝还是带走？Zài zhèr hē háishi dàizǒu?For here or to go?
- 坐地铁或者打车都行。Zuò dìtiě huòzhě dǎchē dōu xíng.The metro or a taxi, either is fine.
吧 and checking questions
(ba) at the end turns a statement into a guess you want confirmed: (Nǐ shì Wáng lǎoshī ba? You're Mr Wang, aren't you?). It also makes suggestions: (wǒmen zǒu ba, let's go).
To ask whether something is all right, add (Hǎo ma?, OK?) or (Kěyǐ ma?, is that OK?) after a statement.
- 你是王老师吧？Nǐ shì Wáng lǎoshī ba?You're Mr Wang, aren't you?
- 我们一起去吧。Wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba.Let's go together.
- 明天上午十点，可以吗？Míngtiān shàngwǔ shí diǎn, kěyǐ ma?Tomorrow at ten in the morning, is that OK?