Mandarin · Chapter 2 · Lesson 20 · Grammar primer
Yes-no questions with 吗 (ma)
Add 吗 (ma) and any statement becomes a question, then answer by echoing the verb - Mandarin has no word for yes.
The short version
There is no word for yes, so hand the verb back
Asked 你去吗 (nǐ qù ma), you answer 去 (qù) for yes and 不去 (bú qù) for no. Asked with 是 (shì), echo 是 (shì) or 不是 (bú shì); asked with 有 (yǒu), echo 有 (yǒu) or 没有 (méi yǒu). Answering 你去吗 (nǐ qù ma) with 是 (shì) marks you as a learner instantly, roughly like replying 'it is true' to 'are you going?'.
你去吗？ nǐ qù ma
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