Difference between revisions of "Questions with "ne""

Revision as of 05:56, 26 November 2013

Level

A1 / HSK1 and HSK3
Level

A1
Level

HSK1, HSK3
Similar to
- Tag questions with "ma" (A1)
- Yes-no questions with "ma" (A1)
- Modal particle "ne" (A2)
- Sentence-final interjection "a" (A2)
- Advanced yes-no questions with "ma" (B1)
- Softening the tone of questions with "ne" (B2)
Similar to
- Sentence-final interjection "a" (HSK1)
- Yes-no questions with "ma" (HSK1)
- Modal particle "ne" (HSK2)
- Tag questions with "ma" (HSK2)
- Advanced yes-no questions with "ma" (HSK4)
- Softening the tone of questions with "ne" (HSK5)
Used for

Asking questions, Expressing attitude
Keywords

呢

The particle 呢 (ne) 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."

Structure

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。

Examples

More 呢 examples (each of these can be translated as a "what about" question):

这个东西呢？What about this thing?
你妈妈呢？What about your mom?
我们呢？What about us?
篮球呢？What about basketball?
这里很多人。那里呢？There are a lot of people here. How about over there?
北京下雨了。上海呢？It's raining in Beijing. How about Shanghai?
这个用中文怎么说？那个呢？How do I say this in Chinese? And that?
我吃饭了。你呢？I've eaten. What about you?
我知道你会说中文。你老公呢？I know you can speak Chinese. What about your husband?
这个周末没空？下个周末呢？You don't have time this weekend? What about next weekend?
我现在要出去。你呢？I'm going to go out now. How about you?

Sources and further reading

Books

Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 137) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 23-4) →buy
Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 300-7) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 87-8) →buy
New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 102-3, 251) →buy
40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 97)→buy

Websites

East Asia Student: How to use 呢 (ne) in Mandarin

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	The particle 呢 (ne) 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 particle 呢 (ne) 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."