(ma) - question particle (turns a statement into a yes/no question) in Mandarin
maTraditional: 嗎
Translation
question particle (turns a statement into a yes/no question)
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Word origin
吗 (ma) is the yes/no question particle, written as a phono-semantic compound of 口 (mouth) for the speech meaning plus 马 (mǎ) as the phonetic. The traditional form 嗎 uses the full 馬.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 口 (mouth, meaning) + 马/馬 (mǎ, phonetic)
Stroke order
吗
Examples
？
How are you?
？
Are you a student?
？
Does he know?
？
Have you had breakfast?
？
Will it rain tomorrow?
吗 (ma) is the yes/no question particle, placed at the end of a sentence.
Where this fits
Appears in 2 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 吗.
Used in
Stories
(41)谁的椅子？
1 min read · Core 1000
在吗？
2 min read · Core 1000
两碗米饭
2 min read · Core 1000
买票
2 min read · Core 5000
面试
2 min read · Core 5000
我只想买花
2 min read · Core 1000
天安门在哪儿？
2 min read · Core 5000
在饭馆
2 min read · Core 5000
在浩轩的家
2 min read · Core 5000
打电话
3 min read · Core 1000
小公园里的音乐
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
梓涵的家
3 min read · Core 5000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
手机在哪儿
3 min read · Core 5000
春节的饺子
3 min read · Core 5000
今天我是校长
3 min read · Core 5000
下雨的下午
3 min read · Core 1000
今年回谁家？
3 min read · Core 1000
新工作的第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
兼职面试
4 min read · Core 5000
老样子
4 min read · Core 1000
香港的暑假
4 min read · Core 5000
别人的信
5 min read · Core 5000
错过的火车
5 min read · Core 5000
等了三年
5 min read · Core 5000
都变了
5 min read · Core 5000
山不见了
5 min read · Core 5000
旧手机
5 min read · Core 5000
看场合
5 min read · Core 1000
最老的门
5 min read · Core 5000
楼上的声音
5 min read · Core 5000
那件事
5 min read · Core 5000
那两分呢？
5 min read · Core 5000
欢迎再来
5 min read · Core 5000
被你发现了
5 min read · Core 5000
三条腿
5 min read · Core 5000
一直开
5 min read · Core 5000
有钱没时间
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(30)Mandarin Adjectives: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Advanced Mandarin Grammar (C1-C2, HSK 6): What Changes
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 过, 在 and 着 Instead of Tense
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Chinese Characters and Radicals: How Hanzi Are Built
Mandarin Complements: 得, Direction and Result After a Verb
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why There Isn't Any
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
How Tall, How Far in Mandarin: 多高, 多远, 多大 With 多
Figurative 起来, 下去 and 出来 in Mandarin
Chinese Filler Words: 嗯, 那个, 然后, 就是, 其实
Mandarin Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today
Mandarin 过 (guo): Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Interrogative Pronouns: 谁, 什么, 哪 and 'Anyone'
How to Use 了 (le) in Mandarin: Completion vs Change
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 能, 可以, 想, 要 and 应该
Mandarin Possession with 有 (yǒu): To Have
Mandarin Potential Complements: 听不懂, 吃不完, 买不起
Mandarin Question Words: 什么, 谁, 哪儿 and the Full List
Mandarin Resultative Complements: 看见, 吃完, 找到
Mandarin Rhetorical Questions: 难道, 不是...吗, 何必 and 岂不
Mandarin Sentence-Final Particles: 吧, 呢, 啊, 嘛 and 吗
Reported Speech in Mandarin: 听说 and 说
Mandarin Tones: The Four Tones, Neutral Tone and the 3-3 Rule
Mandarin Topic-Comment Structure: Fronting the Object
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭
Chinese Sentence Structure: Mandarin Word Order Rules
No Matter What in Mandarin: 无论 and 不管...都
Mandarin Yes-No Questions: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers and 呢 (ne)
Mandarin 以 (yǐ): 以为, 以及, 以便, 以免 and 以来
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Mandarin · Free printables
吗: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "吗" (question particle (turns a statement into a yes/no question)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 2, lesson 1: 吗, 的, 我 and 10 more words.