A Beginner’s Guide to Asking Questions in Chinese: Particles and Sentence Patterns

Asking questions is one of the most fundamental skills in learning any language. Throughout your whole journey, you’ll be asking and responding to different kinds of questions at every step.

Mandarin, being a tonal language, requires more than simply raising the pitch at the end of a sentence, as is commonly done in English. In Chinese, a change in tone can completely alter the meaning of a word. Therefore, understanding the various interrogative particles, structures, and question words used in Mandarin is crucial.

In this article, we’ll explore the most commonly used particles and structures to equip you with the necessary knowledge to confidently ask and understand questions in Mandarin.

1. Using 吗 and 呢 to ask questions in Chinese

In Mandarin, you can ask questions by simply adding the particles 吗(ma) or 呢(ne) at the end of a sentence.

For example：

你是老师吗？(Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?)
Are you a teacher?

今天是星期一吗？(Jīntiān shì xīngqī yī ma?)
Is it Monday today?

你干什么呢？(Nǐ gàn shénme ne?)
What are you doing?

我喜欢这本书，你觉得呢？(Wǒ xǐhuān zhè běn shū, nǐ juéde ne?)
I like this book, what do you think?

2. Using 好吗 and 可以吗

Building on the particle 吗(ma) , you can add 好(hǎo) or 可以(kěyǐ) to form 好吗(hǎo ma) or 可以吗(kěyǐ ma), which can also be placed at the end of a sentence. 好吗(hǎo ma) is used to offer suggestions, while 可以吗(kěyǐ ma) is used to ask for permission.

For example：

我们明天一起去长城，好吗？(Wǒmen míngtiān yìqǐ qù chángchéng, hǎo ma?)
Let’s go to the Great Wall together tomorrow, okay?

借我一下你的笔，可以吗？(Jiè wǒ yíxià nǐde bǐ, kěyǐ ma?)
Can I borrow your pen?

3. Using 什么,怎么,哪里,谁, and 为什么

You will also come across the particles 什么(shénme, what), 怎么(zěnme, how), 哪里(nǎlǐ, where), 谁(shéi, who) and 为什么(wèishénme, why). These particles are particularly useful when you want to ask about something specific.

For example：

你想吃什么？(Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?)
What do you want to eat?

你叫什么名字？(Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?)
What is your name?

去故宫怎么走？(Qù gùgōng zěnme zǒu?)
How can I get to the Imperial Place?

这道题怎么做？(Zhè dào tí zěnme zuò?)
How can I solve this question?

哪里能买到汉语词典？(Nǎlǐ néng mǎi dào hànyǔ cídiǎn?)
Where can I buy a Chinese dictionary?

你要去哪里？(Nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ?)
Where do you want to go?

他是谁?（Tā shì shéi?）
Who is he?

谁是美国人? (Shéi shì Měiguó rén?)
Who is an American?

他为什么没来？(Tā wèishénme méi lái?)
Why didn’t he come?

4. Using 几 and 多 for quantities

When you need to inquire about the quantity or amount of something, you can use either  the particle 几(jǐ) or 多(duō). While these two particles serve a similar purpose, they have some differences. Learn more about The difference between 几(jǐ) and 多少(duōshao) here.

For example：

这件衣服多少钱？(Zhè jiàn yīfu duōshǎo qián?)
How much are these clothes?

这孩子多大了？(Zhè háizi duō dà le?)
How old is this child?

现在几点了？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?)
What time is it now?

你要几个苹果? (Nǐ yào jǐgè píngguǒ?)
How many apples do you want?

5. Using 不 to form affirmative-negative questions

Another method for asking questions involves using the “Verb-不-Verb” format. By itself, the word 不 (bù) means “not” or “no”, so this structure is often used to confirm if a fact is true or not.

For example：

你是不是医生？(Nǐ shìbúshì yīshēng?)
Are you a doctor or not?

小明吃不吃香蕉？(Xiǎomíng chībùchī xiāngjiāo?)
Does Xiaoming eat bananas or not?

妈妈看不看电视？(Māma kànbúkàn diànshì?)
Does mon watch TV or not?

6. Using (是)…还是 to form selective questions

The sentence pattern (是)…还是 (shì…hái shì) offers the choice between two options. It is frequently used to ask others about their preferences or offer a couple of suggestions.

For example：

你是吃中国菜还是吃美国菜？( Nǐ shì chī Zhōngguó cài háishì Měiguó cài?)
Do you eat Chinese food or American food?

这是梨还是苹果？(Zhè shì lí háishì píngguǒ?)
Is this a pear or an apple?

These are just a few of the most common ways to ask questions in Mandarin Chinese. Mastering these particles and sentence structures will be indispensable when it comes to navigating a tonal language that approaches questions in a very different way than English. When it comes time to put these skills into practice, don’t shy away from asking others about their lives, opinions, and preferences. Embrace your curiosity and see where the conversation takes you; you may just learn something new.

If you’d like to take your learning even further, be sure to check out our other HSK-related grammar tutorials. They’re an excellent resource for a more in-depth look at this topic and other essential grammar points.

Related Reading: Chinese for Beginners – All-in-One Guide