Rhetorical questions with "nandao"

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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?

See Also

Sources and further reading

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