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In this post we’ll look at Chinese question words and how to use them.
是的, 不是的 shì de, bú shì de: Yes, No
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?
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?
Do you want to learn Chinese?
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