Placement of question words
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
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.
Contents
- 1 Overview
- 2 Expressing "what" with 什么 (shénme)
- 3 Expressing "where" with 哪里 (nǎli) / 哪儿 (nǎr)
- 4 Expressing "which" with 哪个
- 5 Expressing "who" with 谁 (shéi)
- 6 Expressing "when" with 什么时候 (shénme shíhou)
- 7 Expressing "why" with 为什么 (wèishénme)
- 8 Expressing "how" with 怎么 (zěnme)
- 9 See also
- 10 Sources and further reading
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 what
- 哪里 、 哪儿 where
- 哪个which
- 谁 In spoken Chinese, people normally say "shéi", not "shuí"who
- 什么时候 when
- 为什么 why
- 怎么 how
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 。 I am Xiao Li.
the question form - "who are you?" - has the same word order:
- 你 是 谁？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？What is this?
- B:这 是 我 的 iPad。This is my iPad.
- A:你 喜欢 吃 什么 菜？What kind of food do you like?
- B:我 喜欢 吃 中国 菜。I like Chinese food.
- A:你 用 什么 手机？What kind of cellphone do you use?
- B:我 用 iPhone。I use an iPhone.
- A:你 在 看 什么 书？What kind of book are you reading?
- B:我 在 看 小说。I am reading a novel.
- A:他 开 什么 车？ What kind of car does he drive?
- B:他 开 宝马。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？Where are you?
- B:我 在 家。I'm at home.
- A:你 要 去 哪儿？Where are you going now?
- B:我 要 去 洗手间。I'm going to the bathroom.
- A:我们 在 哪儿？Where are we?
- B:我们 在 南京西路。We are at West Nanjing road.
- A: 这 个 周末 你 想 去 哪儿？Where do you want to go this weekend?
- B:我 想 去 酒吧。I want to go to the bar.
- A: 你好，你 要 去 哪儿？Hello, where do you want to go?
- B:我 要 去 外滩。I want to go to the Bund.
Expressing "which" with 哪个
Structure
Subj. + Verb + 哪个（+Noun）?
- A:你 要 哪个？Which one do you want?
- B:我 要 这个。I want this one.
- A:你 喜欢 哪 个 菜？Which dish do you like?
- B:我 喜欢 这 个 菜。I like this dish.
- A: 我们 去 哪 个 饭店？Which restaurant are we going?
- B: 我们 去 楼下 的 那个。We are going to the one downstairs.
- A: 你 在 哪 个 房间？Which room are you in?
- B: 我 在 你 的 房间。I'm in your room.
- A: 你 住 在 哪 个 区？Which district do you live in?
- B: 我 住 在 静安 区。I live in Jing'an District.
Expressing "who" with 谁 (shéi)
Structure
Subj. + 是 + 谁 ?
谁 + Verb ?
Examples
- A:你 是 谁？Who are you?
- B:我 是 他的女朋友。I'm his girlfriend.
- A:她 是 谁？Who is she?
- B:她 是 我的老师。She‘s my teacher.
- A:你 不 喜欢 谁？Who do you not like?
- B:我 不 喜欢 我 的 老板。I don't like my boss.
- A:谁 想 去？Who wants to go?
- B:我 想 去。I want to go.
- A:谁 想 喝 咖啡？Who wants to drink coffee?
- B:我 想 喝 咖啡。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 ？ When are you coming?
- B:我 明天 来。I'm coming tomorrow.
- A:你们 什么时候 走？When are you guys leaving?
- B:我们 下 个 月 走。We're leaving next month.
- 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:爸爸 什么时候 回来？When is dad coming back?
- B:爸爸 周末 回来。Dad is coming back this weekend.
- A:你 的 飞机 什么时候 到 上海？When is your airplane arriving in Shanghai?
- B:晚上 八点。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？Why do you study Chinese?
- B:因为 我 在 中国 工作。 Because I'm working in China.
- A:他们 为什么 不 喝 咖啡？Why don't you drink coffee?
- B:因为 咖啡 很 苦。Because coffee is bitter.
- A:他 为什么 不 来？Why isn't he coming?
- B:因为 他 很 忙。Because he is busy.
- A:你 早上为什么 不 在？Why were you not here this morning?
- B:因为 我 出去 见 朋友 了。Because I was out meeting some friends.
- A:这些 外国人 为什么 不 喜欢 中国？Why do these foreigners not like China?
- B:因为 中国 人 太多。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？How do you study Chinese?
- B:我 用 Grammar Wiki 学习 中文 。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 北京？How do you go to Běijīng?
- B:我 坐 火车 去。I take the train.
- A:你们 怎么 回家 ？How are you guys going to get home?
- B:我 开车 回家。I‘m driving home.
- A:你 怎么 买 票 ？ How do you buy tickets?
- B:我 上网 买 票 。I go online to buy tickets.
See also
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
