Softening the tone of questions with "ne"
We have seen before that 吧 can be used soften the tone of statements, or make commands feel more like suggestions. 呢 works in same way, but it is used to make questions more indirect and uncertain in tone.
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呢 used successively with 还是
呢 can be used successively in questions using 还是:
V + N + 呢+ 还是 V + N + 呢 + ...
- 我 去 缅甸 呢，去 越南 呢？还是 去 泰国呢？我 得 想 一 想！
- 咱们 打 电脑 游戏 呢，还是 跟 朋友 去 泡 酒吧呢，我 都 可以！
The example sentences above almost have a tone that the speaker is talking to him/herself, as the question is not directly asked at the listener.
呢 with questions involving interrogative pronouns (哪儿，谁，怎么，什么 etc.)
- 这 是 谁 的 笔呢? (I wonder whose pen this is)
- 他 去 哪儿 呢？( I wonder where he's going?)
- 怎么 会呢？ (How could that be?)
In the previous example, the speaker has a tone of conjecture, a bit like saying "I wonder" in English. Again, as in the first example, the question is not directly asked at the listener. Adding 呢 to 怎么会 as in the last example sentence can sound a bit girly; overusing 呢 can have this result.
呢 with "verb 不 verb" questions
If a "verb 不 verb" question is posed without 呢, it can appear as though the speaker is a bit impatient, or is ordering the listener to do something. This of course depends on the tone of voice used. Adding 呢 can give a tone of uncertainty, and is more polite.
- 你 去 不 去 逛街？ (Well are you going to go shopping or what??)
- 你 去 不 去 逛街呢？(Are you going to go shopping?)
- 牛奶 你 喝 不 喝？ (Said to a child, with the implication that if the milk isn't drunk, there will be consequences, with emphasis placed on 喝)
- 牛奶你喝不喝呢？ (Perhaps said to a friend, with no implication of coercion. Perhaps you want to clear away their cup)
- 你周末能不能加班？(Perhaps a manager asking a subordinate. This is not too direct, as 能 has been added. Saying 你加不加班 would seem more like an order)
- 你周末能不能加班呢？(Quite indirect, something like "Would you mind coming in on the weekend?")
Again, the meaning of the above sentences depends on context, and the interpretations given are just examples.
