Placement of question words

What, Where, Who, When, Why, How. These question words are one way to form questions in Chinese.

Overview

Common question words list

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 在 看 什么？Nǐ zài kàn shénme?What are you looking at?
• B:我 在 看 美女。Wǒ zài 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 要 去 哪儿？Nǐ yào qù nǎr?Where are you going now?
• B:我 要 去 洗手间。Wǒ yào 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 他的朋友。Wǒ shì tāde nǚ péngyǒu.I'm his girlfriend.

• 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 水？Shéi xiǎng hē shuǐ?Who wants to drink water?
• B: 我 想 喝 水。Wǒ xiǎng hē shuǐ.I want to drink water.

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

Structure

Subject + 什么时候 + Predicate ?

Examples 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 ？ Nǐ shénme shíhou lái?When are you coming?
• B: 我 明天 来 。Wǒ míngtiān lái.I'm coming tomorrow.

• A: 我们 什么时候 吃 饭 ？Wǒmen shénme shíhou chī fàn?When are we eating?
• B: 我们 6 点 吃 饭 。Wǒmen liù diǎn chī fàn.We're eating at 6:00.

• A: 你们 什么时候 走 ？Nǐmen shénme shíhou zǒu ?When are you guys leaving?
• B: 我们 下 个 月 走 。Wǒmen xià ge yuè zǒu.We're leaving next month.

• A: 你 什么时候 回 美国 ？Nǐ shénme shíhou huí měiguó?When are you going back to the U.S.?
• B: 我 9月 回 美国。Wǒ Jiǔ-yuèhuí měiguó.I am going back this September.

Expressing "why" with 为什么 (wèishénme)

Structure

Subject + 为什么 + Predicate ?

Examples

• A: 你 为什么 学 中文 ？Nǐ wèishénme xué Zhōngwén?Why do you study Chinese?
• B: 因为 我 在 中国 。Yīnwèi wǒ zài Zhōngguó. Because I'm in China.

• A: 你 为什么 不 高兴 ？Nǐ wèishénme bù gāoxìng?Why are you not happy?
• B: 因为 我的 中文 不好。Yīnwèi wǒ de zhōngwén bùhǎo.Because my Chinese is not good.

• A: 他 为什么 不 来？Tā wèishénmebù lái?Why isn't he coming?
• B: 因为 他 很 忙。Yīnwèi tā hēn máng.Because he is busy.

• A: 你 早上为什么 不 在？Nǐ wèishénme bú zài?Why were you not here this morning this morning?
• B: 因为 我 出去 了 。Yīnwèi wǒ chūqù le.Because I was out.

Expressing "how" with 怎么 (zěnme)

Structure

Subject + 怎么 + Verb + Object ?

Examples

• A: 你 怎么 学习 中文？Nǐ zěnme xuéxí Zhōngwén?How do you study Chinese?
• B: 我 用 Grammar Wiki 学习 中文 。Wǒ yòng Grammar Wiki xuéxí Zhōngwén.I use the Grammar Wiki.

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

• A: 你 怎么 去 纽约？Nǐ zěnme qù Niǔyuē?How do you go to New York?
• B: 我 坐 火车 去。Wǒ zuò huǒchē qù.I take the train.

• A: 你 怎么 联系 他？Nǐ zěnme liánxì tā?How do you contact him?
• B: 我 发 邮件 联系 他。Wǒ fā yóujiàn liánxì tā.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