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Daily lessons · Day 8 of 90
Asking questions
吗, 呢, and question words that stay put
Chinese questions need almost no machinery. There is no do, no change of word order and no special verb form. Today covers the three ways questions work, and all three are easier than their English equivalents.
Yes or no, with 吗
Take a statement, add one syllable, and it becomes a question.
Why it works
吗, ma, said with a light neutral tone, sits at the end of any statement and turns it into a yes or no question. Nothing else moves. 你是学生 is you are a student, and 你是学生吗 is are you a student. Compare English, which needs do or does, or a swap of word order, to do the same job. 吗 turns almost anything from the first week into a question, including 你好 from day 1 and 多少钱 from day 6.
Answering by echoing
The question hands you the answer.
Why it works
You answer with the verb or adjective from the question, as it is or with 不 in front. That is why Chinese needs no word for yes. 你忙吗 gets 很忙 or 不太忙, and 你是学生吗 gets 是 or 不是. Saying 是 to every question, the way English speakers say yes, is understood, but it sounds as odd as answering do you drink tea with it is.
呢, and question words
Bounce a question back, or ask for a specific piece of information.
Why it works
A question word goes in the same slot as its answer, and nothing moves to the front. 你去哪儿 is you go where, and the answer 我去北京, wǒ qù Běijīng, is I go Beijing, with the place in the same slot. Questions with a question word never take 吗, because they are already questions. Using both at once is one of the commonest beginner mistakes.
吃了吗
Older people especially greet each other with 吃了吗, chī le ma, have you eaten. It is a greeting, like how are you, and not an invitation to lunch. The honest answer is 吃了, chī le, I have, or 还没, hái méi, not yet, and nobody expects more detail than that.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
Which turns 你是老师 into a question?
- 你是老师吗？ nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?
- 是你老师？ shì nǐ lǎoshī?
- 你老师是吗？ nǐ lǎoshī shì ma?
- 吗你是老师？ ma nǐ shì lǎoshī?
Show the answer
你是老师吗？ nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? Add 吗 to the end. Nothing else moves.
Type and you? in pinyin.
Show the answer
nǐ ne? Answer first, then bounce the question back with 你呢.
Someone asks 你喝咖啡吗 and you do. You answer
- 喝 hē
- 是 shì
- 好 hǎo
- 对 duì
Show the answer
喝 hē Echo the verb from the question.
Where does a question word go?
- where the answer will go
- at the start
- at the end, after 吗
- before the subject
Show the answer
where the answer will go 你去哪儿 is you go where. Nothing moves.
What is wrong with 你去哪儿吗？
- a question word does not take 吗
- 哪儿 should come first
- 吗 needs a tone mark
- nothing
Show the answer
a question word does not take 吗 One or the other, never both.
Type what is this? in pinyin.
Show the answer
zhè shì shénme? 什么 sits where the answer will go.
吃了吗 is usually
- a greeting
- an invitation to lunch
- a complaint
- a question about the menu
Show the answer
a greeting Like how are you. Answer 吃了 or 还没.
The softer way to say not busy is
- 不太忙 bú tài máng
- 不忙吗 bù máng ma
- 很不忙 hěn bù máng
- 忙不 máng bù
Show the answer
不太忙 bú tài máng 不太 is not too.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 21
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.