Rhetorical questions with "nandao"

Level

B2 / HSK4
Level

B2
Level

HSK4
Similar to
- Simple rhetorical questions (B1)
Similar to
- Simple rhetorical questions (HSK2)
Used for

Asking questions, Asking rhetorical questions
Keywords

难道

Rhetorical questions use the form of a question to emphasize a point, and, as such, the question does not require an answer. A typical English rhetorical question might be: "you're not saying you actually believe him, are you?" or "just how stupid are you?" In Chinese, 难道 (nándào) is used as a marker to form this kind of question.

Structure

难道 + [Rhetorical Question]

Examples

难道你真的相信他吗？ Nándào nǐ zhēn de xiāngxìn tā ma?You're not telling me you actually believe him?
难道你是我妈吗？ Nándào nǐ shì wǒ mā ma?What are you, my mother or something?
今天是我的生日，难道你不知道吗？ Jīntiān shì wǒ de shēngrì, nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?Today's my birthday; you're telling me you didn't know?
难道你今天没去上班吗？Nándào nǐ jīntiān méi qù shàngbān ma?Didn't you not go to work today?
你这么冷静，难道不知道发生了什么吗？ Nǐ zhème lěngjìng, nándào bù zhīdào fāshēngle shénme ma?You are so calm, do you not know what happened?
你父母这么关心你，难道你一点都感觉不到吗？Nǐ fùmǔ zhème guānxīn nǐ, nándào nǐ yīdiǎn dōu gǎnjué bù dào ma?Your parents care so much about you; you are not telling me that you could't feel it at all?
他这么帅，又这么有钱，难道你不想嫁给他吗？Tā zhème shuài, yòu zhème yǒu qián, nándào nǐ bù xiǎng jià gěi tā ma?He's so handsome and rich; you are not telling me that you don't want to marry him?

Note that 难道 can only be used for rhetorical questions which could be answered with yes or no, and generally end with 吗.

难道我应该给你多少钱？Not a 吗 questionHow much money should I give you?
难道你还想在这种公司工作多少年？Not a 吗 questionHow many more years do you want to work for this kind of company?
难道他们还要再生几个孩子？Not a 吗 questionHow many more kids do they want to have?

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetorical_question