Rhetorical questions with "nandao"

Rhetorical questions use the form of a question to emphasize a point, thus do not require an answer. A typical English rhetorical question might be: "you're not saying you actually believe him, are you?" or "just how stupid are you?" In Chinese, 难道 (nándào) is used as a marker to form this kind of question. Since we don't "mark" our rhetorical questions like this in English, this can take some getting used to in Chinese.

Structure

难道 + [Rhetorical Question] + 吗？

Examples

• 难道 你 真的 相信 他 吗？ Nándào nǐ zhēn de xiāngxìn tā ma?You don't actually believe him, do you?
• 难道 你 是 我 妈 吗？ Nándào nǐ shì wǒ mā ma?What are you, my mother or something?
• 今天 是 我 的 生日，难道 你 不 知道 吗？ Jīntiān shì wǒ de shēngrì, nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?Today's my birthday; you're telling me you didn't know?
• 难道 你 今天 没 去 上班 吗？Nándào nǐ jīntiān méi qù shàngbān ma?Did you not go to work today?
• 你 这么 冷静，难道 不 知道 发生 了 什么 吗？ Nǐ zhème lěngjìng, nándào bù zhīdào fāshēngle shénme ma?You are so calm. Do you not know what happened?
• 你 父母 这么 关心 你， 难道 你 一点 都 感觉 不到 吗？Nǐ fùmǔ zhème guānxīn nǐ, nándào nǐ yīdiǎn dōu gǎnjué bù dào ma?Your parents care so much about you. Don't tell me that you don't feel it at all?
• 他 这么 帅，又 这么 有钱，难道 你 不 想 嫁 给 他 吗？Tā zhème shuài, yòu zhème yǒu qián, nándào nǐ bù xiǎng jià gěi tā ma?He's so handsome and rich! Are you telling me that you don't want to marry him?

Note that 难道 can only be used for rhetorical questions which could be answered with yes or no, and generally end with 吗.

• 难道 我 应该 给 你 多少 钱？Not a 吗 questionHow much money should I give you?
• 难道你 还 想 在 这 种 公司 工作 多少 年？Not a 吗 questionHow many more years do you want to work for this kind of company?
• 难道他们 还 要 再 生 几 个 孩子？Not a 吗 questionHow many more kids do they want to have?

See Also

• "Could it be that" with "qibushi"
• Expressing "could it be possible that" with "mofei"

Sources and further reading

Books

• HSK Standard Course 4上 (pp. 105) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (pp. 132-3) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Boya Chinese Upper Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语中级冲刺篇) (pp. 91-2) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 120) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 83) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Websites

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_question

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