Placement of question words

What, Where, Who, When, Why, How. These question words are one key way to form questions in Chinese. The important thing to remember is that word order is the same in Chinese for questions and statements.

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"shéiwho
• 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

Subj. + Verb + 什么 + (Noun) ?

Examples

• A: 这 是 什么？Zhè shì shénme?What is this?
• B:这 是 我 的 iPad。Zhè shì wǒ de iPad.This is my iPad.

• A:你 喜欢 吃 什么 菜？ Nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme cài?What kind of food do you like?
• B:我 喜欢 吃 中国 菜。 Wǒ xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài.I like Chinese food.

• A:你 用 什么 手机？Nǐ yòng shénme shǒujī?What kind of cellphone do you use?
• B:我 用 iPhone。Wǒ yòng iPhone.I use an iPhone.

• A:你 在 看 什么 书？Nǐ zài kàn shénme shū?What kind of book are you reading?
• B:我 在 看 小说。Wǒ zài kàn xiǎoshuō .I am reading a novel.

• A:他 开 什么 车？Tā kāi shénme chē? What kind of car does he drive?
• B:他 开 宝马。 Tā kāi Bǎomǎ.He drives a BMW.

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

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 哪里/哪儿 ?

Examples

• A:你 在 哪里？Nǐ zài nǎli?Where are you?
• B:我 在 家 。Wǒ zài jiā.I'm at home.

• 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.

• 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: 这 个 周末 你 想 去 哪儿？Zhè ge zhōumò nǐ xiǎng qù nǎr?Where do you want to go this weekend?
• B:我 想 去 酒吧 。Wǒ xiǎng qù jiǔbā.I want to go to the bar.

• A: 你好，你 要 去 哪儿？Nǐhǎo nǐ yào qù nǎr?Hello, where do you want to go?
• B:我 要 去 外滩 。Wǒ yào qù wàitān.I want to go to the Bund.

Expressing "who" with 谁 (shéi)

Structure

Subj. + 是 + 谁 ?

谁 + Verb ?

Examples

• A:你 是 谁？Nǐ shì shéi?Who are you?
• B:我 是 他的女朋友。Wǒ shì tā de nǚpéngyou.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‘s my teacher.

• A:你 不 喜欢 谁？Nǐ bù xǐhuan shéi?Who do you not like?
• B:我 不 喜欢 我 的 老板。Wǒ bù xǐhuan wǒ de lǎobǎn.I don't like my boss.

• A:谁 想 去？Shéi xiǎng qù?Who wants to go?
• B:我 想 去。Wǒ xiǎng qù.I want to go.

• A:谁 想 喝 咖啡？Shéi xiǎng hē kāfēi?Who wants to drink coffee?
• B:我 想 喝 咖啡。Wǒ xiǎng hē kāfēi.I want to drink coffee.

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

Structure

Subj. + 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: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: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:爸爸 什么时候 回来？Bàba shénme shíhou huílai?When is dad coming back?
• B:爸爸 周末 回来。Bàba zhōumò huílai.Dad is coming back this weekend.

• A:你 的 飞机 什么时候 到 上海？Nǐ de fēijī shénme shíhou dào Shànghǎi?When is your airplane arriving in Shanghai?
• B:晚上 八点。 Wǎnshang bā diǎn.Eight o'clock this evening.

Expressing "why" with 为什么 (wèishénme)

Structure

Subj. + 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 工作。Yīnwèi wǒ zài Zhōngguó gōngzuò. Because I'm working in China.

• A:他们 为什么 不 喝 咖啡？Nǐ wèishénme bù hē kāfēi?Why don't you drink coffee?
• B:因为 咖啡 很 苦。Yīnwèi kāfēi hěn kǔ.Because coffee is bitter.

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

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

• A:这些 外国人 为什么 不 喜欢 中国？Zhèxiē wàiguórén wèishénme bù xǐhuan Zhōngguó?Why do these foreigners not like China?
• B:因为 中国 人 太多。Yīnwèi Zhōngguó rén tài duō.Because China has a lot of people.

Expressing "how" with 怎么 (zěnme)

Structure

Subj. + 怎么 + Verb (+ Obj.) ?

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 北京？Nǐ zěnme qù Beijing?How do you go to Běijīng?
• B:我 坐 火车 去。Wǒ zuò huǒchē qù.I take the train.

• A:你们 怎么 回家 ？Nǐmen zěnme huíjiā?How are you guys going to get home?
• B:我 开车 回家。Wǒ kāichē huíjiā.I‘m driving home.

• A:你 怎么 买 票 ？ Nǐ zěnme mǎi piào? How do you buy tickets?
• B:我 上网 买 票 。Wǒ shàngwǎng mǎi piào.I go online to buy tickets.

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