Difference between revisions of "Questions with ne"
| Line 29: | Line 29: | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| − | |||
* [[Yes - no questions with ma]] | * [[Yes - no questions with ma]] | ||
* [[Tag questions with ma]] | * [[Tag questions with ma]] | ||
| + | * [[Softening the Tone of Questions with "ne"]] (advanced article) | ||
== Sources and further reading == | == Sources and further reading == | ||
Revision as of 01:36, 16 November 2011
The particle 呢 can be used to ask reciprocal questions, also known as "bounce back" questions. 呢 can also be used to ask questions such as "what about" or "how about".
The structure is:
Topic + 呢
And it's as simple as that. Say what you want to ask about, then stick 呢 on the end. A very common way to use this is to return a question after being asked it. The classic example is this exchange:
- A: 你 好 吗？
- B: 我 很 好。你呢？
- A: 我 也 很 好。
More 呢 examples (each of these can be translated as a "what about" question):
- 这个东西 呢？
- 你 妈妈 呢？
- 我们 呢？
- 地球 呢？
(Bonus points if you spotted the Michael Jackson reference in the examples).
See also
- Yes - no questions with ma
- Tag questions with ma
- Softening the Tone of Questions with "ne" (advanced article)
Sources and further reading
Books
- Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 300 - 307)
Websites
- East Asia Student: How to use 呢 (ne) in Mandarin
