Questions with "ne"

Revision as of 02:49, 17 August 2015 by WikiSysop (talk | contribs)

The particle 呢 (ne) can be used to ask reciprocal questions, also known as "bounce back" questions. 呢 (ne) 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 (ne) 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 ?Nǐ hǎo ma?
  • B: 我 很 好。你 Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne?
  • A: 我 也 很 好 。Wǒ yě hěn hǎo.

Examples

More 呢 (ne) examples (each of these can be translated as a "what about" question):

  • 这 个 好? 那 个 Zhè gè hǎo? Nàge ne?This one is good? What about that one?
  • 你 爸爸 好 吗?你 妈妈 Nǐ bàba hǎo ma? Nǐ māmā ne?How has your father been? And your mom?
  • 你 说 他们 可以 去。我们 Nǐ shuō tāmen kěyǐ qù. Wǒmen ne?You said they can go. What about us?
  • 你 不 喜欢 乒乓球。篮球 Nǐ bù xǐhuan pīngpāngqiú. Lánqiú ne?You don't like ping pong. What about basketball?
  • 这里 很 多 人。那里 Zhèlǐ hěnduō rén. Nàlǐ ne?There are a lot of people here. How about over there?
  • 北京 下雨 了。上海 Běijīng xiàyǔ le. Shànghǎi ne?It's raining in Beijing. How about Shanghai?
  • 这 个 用 中文 怎么 说?那 个 Zhè gè yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō? Nàge ne?How do I say this in Chinese? And that?
  • 我 吃饭 了。你 Wǒ chīfàn le. Nǐ ne?I've eaten. What about you?
  • 我 知道 你 会 说 中文。你 老公 Wǒ zhīdào nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén. Nǐ lǎogōng ne?I know you can speak Chinese. What about your husband?
  • 这 个 周末 没 空?下 个 周末 Zhè gè zhōumò méi kòng? Xià gè zhōumò ne?You don't have time this weekend? What about next weekend?
  • 我 现在 要 出去。你 Wǒ xiànzài yào chūqù. Nǐ ne?I'm going to go out now. How about you?

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites