Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Type 1: 吗 (ma) for yes/no questions
Take any statement, append 吗 (ma) to the end, you have a yes/no question.
- 你好。 (Nǐ hǎo.) - You are well.
- 你好？ (Nǐ hǎo ma?) - Are you well?
- 他是英国人。 (Tā shì yīng guó rén.) - He is English.
- 他是英国人？ (Tā shì yīng guó rén ma?) - Is he English?
- 你喜欢咖啡？ (Nǐ xǐ huan kā fēi ma?) - Do you like coffee?
- 你要去？ (Nǐ yào qù ma?) - Do you want to go?
吗 (ma) is neutral tone. No change to the rest of the sentence.
Type 2: V-not-V (choice questions)
Pose a yes/no question by repeating the verb in positive-then-negative form.
- 你英国人？ (Nǐ shì bú shì yīng guó rén?) - Are you English (or not)?
- 你肉？ (Nǐ chī bù chī ròu?) - Do you eat meat?
- 你咖啡？ (Nǐ xǐ huan bù xǐ huan kā fēi?) - Do you like coffee?
- 他说中文？ (Tā huì bú huì shuō zhōng wén?) - Can he speak Chinese?
V-not-V is functionally identical to 吗 (ma) but slightly more direct. Several common fixed forms ARE V-not-V: 是不是 (is it or not), 好不好 (is it good or not), 对不对 (is it right or not), 有没有 (is there or not). These attach to the end of sentences as tags meaning roughly 'right?': 这是你的 (zhè shì nǐ de), 是不是 (shì bu shì)？
For two-syllable verbs, you can shorten the first repetition: 喜不喜欢 (instead of 喜欢不喜欢 (xǐ huan bù xǐ huan)), 知不知道 (knows or not). Both forms work.
Type 3: 还是 (hái shì) for 'A or B' alternatives
When the question offers a choice between two options, use 还是 (hái shì) between them.
- 你喝茶喝咖啡？ (Nǐ hē chá hái shì hē kā fēi?) - Do you drink tea or coffee?
- 你是英国人美国人？ (Nǐ shì yīng guó rén hái shì měi guó rén?) - Are you English or American?
- 我们今天去明天去？ (Wǒ men jīn tiān qù hái shì míng tiān qù?) - Are we going today or tomorrow?
Don't add 吗 (ma) to a 还是 (hái shì) question. The structure is already a question by itself.
Compare 还是 (alternative question, 'is it A or B?') with 或者 (huò zhě, 'A or B', in statements): 我喝茶或者咖啡 (I'll drink tea or coffee, whichever).
Type 4: wh-questions (in-situ)
The single most counterintuitive feature for English speakers. The question word sits in the position the answer would occupy. No fronting.
- 你叫名字？ (Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi?) - What's your name? (Lit: You are called what name?)
- 这是？ (Zhè shì shéi?) - Who is this?
- 你去？ (Nǐ qù nǎr?) - Where are you going? (Lit: You go where?)
- 你学中文？ (Nǐ wèi shén me xué zhōng wén?) - Why are you learning Chinese?
- 你去？ (Nǐ zěn me qù?) - How are you going? (by what means)
- 你？ (Nǐ zěn me yàng?) - How are you? (general state)
The rule: replace the unknown information with the question word, leave everything else alone. English does the opposite - fronts the question word, adds 'do/does/did', inverts the subject. Mandarin does none of that.
The full wh-word inventory
| Question word | Pinyin | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| shén me | what | ？ - What are you eating? | |
| shéi (or shuí) | who | ？ - Who is he? | |
| / | nǎr / nǎ li | where | ？ - Where are you going? |
| wèi shén me | why | ？ - Why are you crying? | |
| zěn me | how (manner) / why (reproach) | ？ - How to go? | |
| zěn me yàng | how (general state) | ？ - How is it? | |
| jǐ | how many (small number, ≤ ~10) | ？ - How many people? | |
| duō shǎo | how many / how much (any size) | ？ - How much money? | |
| nǎ ge | which (one) | ？ - Which one is good? | |
| shén me shí hou | when | ？ - When are you going? | |
| duō dà | how old / how big | ？ - How old are you? | |
| jǐ suì | how old (for children, < ~10) | ？ - How old are you? | |
| duō yuǎn | how far | ？ - How far? | |
| duō cháng shí jiān | how long (duration) | ？ - How long? | |
| duō jiǔ | how long (more informal) | ？ - How long? |
A few worth flagging:
- vs . 几 expects a small answer (usually under ten) and ALWAYS takes a classifier: 几个人 (how many people), 几本书 (how many books). 多少 takes any size of answer and the classifier is optional: 多少人, 多少钱.
- vs . 怎么 + verb asks how (by what means). 怎么样 by itself asks 'how is it' / 'what's it like'.
- vs . 几岁 for small children. 多大 for everyone else (or for general size: 房子多大).
Tag particles: 呢 (ne) and 吧 (ba)
Two sentence-final particles that turn statements into softer questions.
呢 (ne): 'and how about X?'
Used to bounce a question back, or to ask 'what about X?'
- 我很好, 你？ (Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?) - I'm fine, and you?
- 我吃面条, 你？ (Wǒ chī miàn tiáo, nǐ ne?) - I'm having noodles, what about you?
- 他？ (Tā ne?) - And what about him? / Where is he?
吧 (ba): tag suggestion / softened assertion
- 你是英国人？ (Nǐ shì yīng guó rén ba?) - You're English, right? (I'm fairly sure)
- 我们走？ (Wǒ men zǒu ba?) - Shall we go? / Let's go.
- 好。 (Hǎo ba.) - Alright then.
吧 (ba) invites confirmation rather than asking from zero. It's the closest Mandarin gets to a tag question like English '..., right?' or '..., shall we?'.
What NOT to do
- Don't add (ma) to a wh-question. 你叫什么 (nǐ jiào shén me) already is a question. 你叫什么吗 (nǐ jiào shén me ma) is wrong.
- Don't add (ma) to a (hái shì) question. Same reason.
- Don't front the question word. 你吃什么 (correct), NOT 什么你吃 (shén me nǐ chī).
- Don't double up V-not-V and (ma). Choose one.
What to internalise
- turns any statement into a yes/no question. The default.
- V-not-V is identical in meaning, slightly more direct. 是不是 (shì bu shì), 好不好 (hǎo bu hǎo), 对不对 (duì bu duì) are fixed tags.
- is for explicit A-or-B alternatives. No 吗 needed.
- Wh-words stay in situ. Replace the unknown, change nothing else.
- bounces a question back; softens an assertion to a confirmation. Useful for natural-sounding conversation.
For the wider syntactic picture of how questions sit alongside the other Mandarin structures, see the word-order page.