2 Simple Ways of Asking Questions

Grammar Explanation

In this lesson, we’ll cover two ways of asking questions in Chinese.

One way is to add the interrogative particle “吗” to the end of the sentence. The sentence order remains unchanged.

S EV N 吗?
shì xiǎowánɡ mɑ?
小王 吗?

Are you Xiao Wang?

màikè’ěr shì měiɡuórén mɑ?
迈克尔 美国人 吗?

Is Michael an American?

xìnɡ mɑ?
吗?

Is she surnamed Li?

The other way of asking questions is to use the “positive + negative” form of the verb (i.e. by immediately following the positive form of the verb with its negative form). “吗” is always omitted in this kind of sentence pattern.

S V V-Negative N?
shì búshì xiǎowánɡ?
不是 小王?

Are you Xiao Wang (or not)?

màikè’ěr shì búshì měiɡuórén?
迈克尔 不是 美国人?

Is Michael an American (or not)?

xìnɡ búxìnɡ lǐ?
不姓 李?

Is she surnamed Li (or not)?

Actually, there is a slight difference between the “吗” question and the “positive + negative” type of question. The “吗” question carries a sense of doubt and is answer-seeking, while the “positive + negative” question hints that the person who proposed the question seems to know the answer, but is not sure about it.

The Answer

In Chinese, the word order of the answer is usually the same as the word order of the question. So, to answer questions in Chinese, you simply repeat the verb in its positive or negative form and remove the interrogative word “吗”. Besides, there is no need to add “yes” or “no” in the answer as in English.

   nǐ shì xiǎowánɡ mɑ?

A: 你 是 小王 吗?

   Are you Xiao Wang?

   wǒ búshì xiǎowánɡ.

B: 我 不是 小王。

   I am not Xiao Wang

   nǐ xìnɡ búxìnɡ lǐ?

A: 你 姓 不姓 李?

   Are you surnamed Li?

   wǒ búxìnɡ lǐ.

B: 我 不姓 李。

   I am not surnamed Li.

  • Chinese personal names consist of two parts: a family name (or surname) and a given name. The family name always precedes the given name. The most common pattern for Chinese names is a single-syllable family name followed by a single-syllable or double-syllable given names. Occasionally you will hear a double-syllable family name (e.g. 司马 sī mǎ,上官 shànɡ ɡuān).
  • To ask someone’s surname, instead of saying: “你姓什么?nǐ xìnɡ shénme?”, you can use “您贵姓?nín ɡuì xìnɡ?” to be polite. “贵 ɡuì” has a meaning of “honorable”.
  • Remember to use “您” when you wish to be courteous to someone like your boss, teacher, or someone who is old. It is a polite way of saying “你”.
  • Chinese doesn’t have words corresponding to the English words “a” or “the”.
  • Negative word “不 bù” before a 4th tone word (e.g. 是 shì) changes to a 2nd tone (e.g. 不是 bú shì).
  • Exercises

    597

    2 Simple Ways of Asking Questions

    1 / 10

    Complete the sentences with 不 or 没.

    nǐ hē _____ hē kělè?

    你喝_____喝可乐?

    Do you want Cola?

    2 / 10

    wǒ _____ yǒu nǚ pénɡ you.

    我_____有女朋友。

    I don't have a girlfriend.

    3 / 10

    wǒ _____ chī pínɡɡuǒ.

    我_____吃苹果。

    I don't eat apples.

    4 / 10

    nǐ hē _____ hē shuǐ?

    你喝_____喝水?

    Did you drink water?

    5 / 10

    Choose the Best Answer

    nín shì lǎoshī _________?

    您是老师_________?

    6 / 10

    nǐde míngzi _________ bú shìlǐtāo ?

    你的名字_________不是李涛?

    7 / 10

    tā jiào _________?

    他叫_________?

    8 / 10

    jǐng yuè _________ zhōngguó rén, tā shì rìběn rén.

    井月_________中国人,她是日本人。

    9 / 10

    True or False

    nǐ shì bù měi ɡuó rén?

    你是不美国人?

    10 / 10

    wǒ bú xìnɡ lǐ.

    我不姓李。

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