Beginner course – Lesson 11 of 15
Question Words in Mandarin
With a handful of question words, you can ask almost anything. The good news: Mandarin questions keep the same word order as the answer.
Question words
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 什么 | shénme | What |
| 谁 | shéi | Who |
| 哪里 | nǎlǐ | Where |
| 什么时候 | shénme shíhou | When |
| 为什么 | wèishénme | Why |
| 怎么 | zěnme | How |
| 几 | jǐ | How many (small numbers) |
| 多少 | duōshao | How many, how much |
| 哪个 | nǎge | Which one |
| 吗 | ma | Turns a sentence into a yes or no question |
什么
shénme
What
谁
shéi
Who
哪里
nǎlǐ
Where
什么时候
shénme shíhou
When
为什么
wèishénme
Why
怎么
zěnme
How
几
jǐ
How many (small numbers)
多少
duōshao
How many, how much
哪个
nǎge
Which one
吗
ma
Turns a sentence into a yes or no question
Example questions
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这是什么？ | zhè shì shénme? | What is this? |
| 他是谁？ | tā shì shéi? | Who is he? |
| 你去哪里？ | nǐ qù nǎlǐ? | Where are you going? |
| 你是老师吗？ | nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? | Are you a teacher? |
| 这个用中文怎么说？ | zhège yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō? | How do you say this in Chinese? |
这是什么？
zhè shì shénme?
What is this?
他是谁？
tā shì shéi?
Who is he?
你去哪里？
nǐ qù nǎlǐ?
Where are you going?
你是老师吗？
nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?
Are you a teacher?
这个用中文怎么说？
zhège yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?
How do you say this in Chinese?
You may also hear 谁 said as "shuí". Both are correct.
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