这是什么 ？ Zhè shì shén me? What is this? Questions in Chinese
In this post we’ll look at how to ask questions in Chinese. First we’ll look at some general vocabulary that you can use when you want to ask a question. Then we’ll move on to question words in Chinese. We’ll cover all of the important question words in Chinese for what, who, where, when, how, how much/many, and why. Along the way we’ll point out any important grammar that you need to know when you ask questions in Chinese.
General Vocabulary for Questions
Let’s start with some general vocabulary and expressions related to questions: 问题 wèntí a question; 对/是的 duì / shì de yes; 不/不是的 bù / bú shì de no; 也许 yě xǔ maybe; 还是, 或者 háishì, huòzhě or.
- 我有个问题。
Wǒ yǒu gè wèn tí.
I have a question. - 我能问你个问题吗？
Wǒ néng wèn nǐ gè wèn tí ma?
Can I ask you a question? - 我不知道。
Wǒ bù zhī dào.
I don’t know. - 我不确定。
Wǒ bú què dìng.
I’m not sure.
- 我敢肯定。
Wǒ gǎn kěn dìng.
I am sure. - 这是茶还是咖啡？
Zhè shì chá huái shì kā fēi?
Is this tea or coffee? - 你要水还是果汁？
Nǐ yào shuǐ huái shì guǒ zhī?
Do you want water or juice? - 这是你住的酒店吗？
Zhè shì nǐ zhù de jiǔ diàn ma?
Is this your hotel? - 对，这是我住的酒店。
Duì, zhè shì wǒ zhù de jiǔ diàn.
Yes, it’s my hotel. - 不，这不是我住的酒店。
Bù, zhè bú shì wǒ zhù de jiǔ diàn.
No, it’s not my hotel.
GRAMMAR TIP
To ask a simple yes/no question in Chinese, all you have to do is put the question particle 吗 ma at the end of the statement. Compare:
- 你会中文。
Nǐ huì zhōngwén.
You speak Chinese. - 你会中文吗？
Nǐ huì zhōngwén ma?
Do you speak Chinese? - 这是你住的酒店。
Zhè shì nǐ zhù de jiǔ diàn.
This is your hotel. - 这是你住的酒店吗？
Zhè shì nǐ zhù de jiǔ diàn ma?
Is this your hotel?
Chinese Question Words
Now let’s move on to questions with question words. We’ll cover all of the most important Chinese question words in this section.
什么？ shén me? What?
To ask what, use 什么？ shén me?
- 这是什么 ？
Zhè shì shén me?
What is this? - 你在做什么？
Nǐ zài zuò shén me?
What are you doing?
谁？ shuí? Who?
To ask who, use 谁？ shuí?
- 那是谁？
Nà shì shuí?
Who is that? - 你和谁一起去旅行？
Nǐ hé shuí yì qǐ qù lǚ xíng?
Who are you traveling with?
哪里？ nǎ lǐ? Where?
To ask where, use 哪里？ nǎ lǐ?
- 浴室在哪里？
Yùshì zài nǎlǐ?
Where’s the bathroom? - 你住在哪里？
Nǐ zhù zài nǎ lǐ?
Where do you live? - 你去哪里？
Nǐ qù nǎ lǐ?
Where are you going? - 你是哪国人？/ 你是哪儿的人？
Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? / Nǐ shì nǎr de rén?
Where are you from? (country/region)
什么时候？ shén me shí hou? When?
To ask when, use 什么时候？ shén me shí hou? A related question is 在几点？ zài jǐ diǎn ？at what time?
- 你什么时候到/走？
nǐ shén me shí hou dào / zǒu?
When do you arrive/leave? - 火车什么时候开/到？
Huǒ chē shén me shí hou kāi / dào?
When does the train leave/arrive? - 商店什么时候开门/关门？
Shāng diàn shén me shí hou kāi mén / guān mén?
When does the store open/close? - 电影几点开始？
Diàn yǐng jǐ diǎn kāi shǐ?
At what time does the film start?
怎么？ zěnme？How?
To ask how, use 怎么？ zěnme?
- 怎么说<hello>？
Zěnme shuō <hello>？
How do you say <hello>? - 你怎么去上班？
Nǐ zěnme qù shàng bān?
How do you go to work? - 你是怎么学中文的？
Nǐ shì zěnme xué zhōngwén de?
How did you learn Chinese?
多少？ duōshǎo? How much?
To ask how much or how many, use 多少？ duōshǎo?
- 这个要多少钱？
Zhè gè yào duōshǎo qián?
How much does this cost? - 有多少人？
Yǒu duōshǎo rén?
How many people? - 我们还有多少时间？
Wǒ men huái yǒu duōshǎo shí jiān?
How much time do we have? - 你有多少本书？
Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo běn shū?
How many books do you have?
GRAMMAR TIP!
Both 多少 duōshǎo and 几 jǐ are used to ask about quantities. 多少 duōshǎo can be used generally, and you can use or omit measure words after it:
- 多少(本)书？ duōshǎo (běn) shū? how many books?
- 多少(辆)车？duōshǎo (liàng) chē? how many cars?
- 多少(个)学生？duōshǎo (gè) xuéshēng? how many students?
- 多少水？ duōshǎo shuǐ? how much water?
几 jǐ is typically used for lower countable quantities, fewer than ten, and it requires a measure word.
- 几本书？jǐ běn shū? how many books?
- 几杯咖啡？ jǐ bēi kāfēi? how many cups of coffee?
- 几支笔？ jǐ zhī bǐ? how many pens?
为什么？ wèi shén me? Why?
To ask why, use 为什么？ wèi shén me?
- 你为什么在这里？
Nǐ wèi shén me zài zhè lǐ?
Why are you here? - 你为什么伤心？
Nǐ wèishéme shāngxīn?
Why are you sad?
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