Placement of question words

How does one ask questions in Chinese? This article will tell you how questions are formed and where the questions words are supposed to go. After all, one of the best ways to learn is to ask questions!

Overview

Common question words list

Question words are one way to form questions in Chinese. In English, question words are also known as wh-words, as the majority of them begin with wh:

• 什么 shénmewhat
• 哪里 、 哪儿 nǎli, nǎrwhere
• 谁 In spoken Chinese, people normally say "shéi", not "shuí"shéi (shuí)who
• 什么时候 shénme shíhouwhen
• 为什么 wèishénmewhy
• 怎么 zěnmehow

Rules

In English, question words have to be placed at the beginning of the sentence. This involves changing the word order to allow this rearrangement. In Chinese, using question words is a lot simpler. You simply place a question word in the place of the thing you want to ask about. Nothing needs to be rearranged.

So if the statement is

• 我 是 小李 。 Wǒ shì Xiǎo Lǐ.I am Xiao Li.

the question form - "who are you?" - has the same word order:

• 你 是 谁？Nǐ shì shéi?Who are you? (you are who?)

This works for whatever it is you want to ask about. The question form has the same word order as the statement form.

Expressing "what" with 什么 (shénme)

Structure

Subject + Verb + 什么 + (Noun) ?

Examples

• A: 这 是 什么？Zhè shì shénme?What is this?
• B:这 是 书。Zhè shì shū.This is a book.

• A:那 是 什么？Nà shì shénme?What is that?
• B:那 是 桌子。Nà shì zhuōzi.That is a desk.

• A:你 有 什么？Nǐ yǒu shénme?What do you have?
• B:我 有 钱。Wǒ yǒu qián.I have money.

• A:你 看 什么？Nǐ kàn shénme?What are you looking at?
• B:我 看 美女。Wǒ kàn měinǚ.I am looking at pretty girls.

Expressing "where" with 哪里 (nǎli) / 哪儿 (nǎr)

Structure

Subject + Verb + 哪里/哪儿 ?

Examples

• A: 你 在 哪里？Nǐ zài nǎli?Where are you?
• B:我 在 北京。Wǒ zài Běijīng.I'm in Beijing.

• A: 你 去 哪里？Nǐ qù nǎli?Where are you going?
• B:我 去 上海。Wǒ qù Shànghǎi.I'm going to Shanghai.

• A: 我们 在 哪儿？Wǒmen zài nǎr?Where are we?
• B:我们 在 南京西路。Wǒmen zài Nánjīng Xī Lù.We are at West Nanjing road.

• A: 你 现在 去 哪儿？Nǐ xiànzài qù nǎr?Where are you going now?
• B:我 去 洗手间。Wǒ qù xǐshǒujiān.I'm going to the bathroom.

Expressing "who" with 谁 (shéi)

Structure

Subject + 是 + 谁 ?

谁 + Verb ?

Examples

• A: 你 是 谁？Nǐ shì shéi?Who are you?
• B: 我 是 成龙。Wǒ shì Chéng Lóng.I'm Cheng Long (Jackie Chan).

• A: 她 是 谁？Tā shì shéi?Who is she?
• B: 她 是 我 的 老师。Tā shì wǒ de lǎoshī.She is my teacher.

• A: 谁去？Shéi qù?Who is going?
• B: 我 去。Wǒ qù.I'm going.

• A: 谁 想 喝 茶？Shéi xiǎng hē chá?Who wants to drink tea?
• B: 我 想 喝 茶。Wǒ xiǎng hē chá.I want to drink tea.

Expressing "when" with 什么时候 (shénme shíhou)

Structure

Subject + 什么时候 + Predicate ?

An example for asking and telling when (to keep things simple, we'll just include questions about the future; asking questions about the past can be slightly more complicated and may involve the "shi... de" construction).

Examples

• A: 你 什么时候 来 ？ When are you coming?
• B:我 明天 来 。I'm coming tomorrow.

• A: 我们 什么时候 吃 饭 ？When are we eating?
• B:我们 6 点 吃 饭。We're eating at 6:00.

• A: 你们 什么时候 结婚？When do you guys get married?
• B:我们 下 个 月 结婚。We get married next month.

• A: 你 什么时候 去 旅行？When are you going to travel?
• B:我 9月 去 旅行。I am going to travel in September.

Expressing "why" with 为什么 (wèishénme)

Structure

Subject + 为什么 + Predicate ?

An example for asking and telling why.

Examples

• A: 你 为什么 学 中文？Why do you study Chinese?
• B:因为 我 在 中国。 Because I'm in China.

• A: 你 为什么 不 高兴？Why are you not happy?
• B:因为 我 在 学 中文。Because I am studying Chinese.

• A: 他 为什么 哭 了？Why was he crying?
• B:因为 他 喝 醉 了。Because he was drunk.

• A: 你 为什么 没 去 上班？Why didn't you go to work?
• B:因为 我 生病 了。Because I'm sick.

Expressing "how" with 怎么 (zěnme)

Structure

Subject + 怎么 + Verb + Object ?

Examples

• A: 你 怎么 学习 中文？How do you study Chinese?
• B:我 用 Grammar Wiki 。I use the Grammar Wiki.

• A: 你 怎么 上网？How do you go online?
• B:我 用 手机 上网。I use my cell phone to go online.

• A: 你 怎么 去 纽约？How do you go to New York?
• B:我 坐 火车 去。I take the train.

• A: 你 怎么 联系 他？How do you contact him?
• B:我 发 邮件 联系 他。I e-mail him to contact him.

See also

• Word order
• Affirmative-negative questions
• Yes-no questions with "ma"

Sources and further reading

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 23) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 132-5) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (p. 57) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 66, 251) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)→buy