Questions with "ne"

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?

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