How to ask questions in Chinese

This post will cover the main ways you can ask questions in Chinese.

Asking who, what, when, where, why, how in Chinese

When you at school you may have learned the so-called “five Ws”, or specifically “Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?” Knowing these questinos will allow you to ask most common types of questions, so let’s take a look:

Question	Example
谁shéi shéi Who?	她tā是shì谁shéi？? tā shì shéi? Who is she?
什shén么me shén​me What?	这zhè是shì什shén么me？? zhè shì shén​me? What is this?
几jǐ点diǎn钟zhōng jǐ​diǎn zhōng When (what time?)	你nǐ几jǐ点diǎn钟zhōng回huí家jiā？? nǐ jǐ​diǎn zhōng huí​jiā? What time are you going time?
什shén么me时shí候hou shén​me shí​hou When?	你nǐ什shén么me时shí候hou回huí家jiā？? nǐ shén​me shí​hou huí​jiā? When are you going home?
哪nǎ里lǐ // 哪nǎ儿r nǎ​lǐ / nǎ​r Where?	你nǐ去qù哪nǎ儿r？? nǐ qù nǎ​r? Where are you going?
为wèi什shén么me wèi​shén​me Why?	他tā为wèi什shén么me喜xǐ欢huan猫māo？? tā wèi​shén​me xǐ​huan māo? Why do you like cats?
怎zěn么me zěn​me How?	怎zěn么me去qù？? zěn​me qù? How to go?

The way to ask a question in Chinese is to phrase the question in the same way that you would the answer, specifically “who, what, when, where, why, how” is placed where the answer is.

Question	Answer
她tā是shì谁shéi？? tā shì shéi? Who is she?	她tā是shì我wǒ的de朋péng友you。. tā shì wǒ de péng​you. She is my friend.
你nǐ的de车chē是shì什shén么me颜yán色sè？? nǐ de chē shì shén​me yán​sè? What colour is your car?	我wǒ的de车chē是shì红hóng色sè。. wǒ de chē shì hóng​sè. My car is red.
你nǐ几jǐ点diǎn钟zhōng睡shuì觉jiào？? nǐ jǐ​diǎn zhōng shuì​jiào? What time do you sleep?	我wǒ十shí点diǎn钟zhōng睡shuì觉jiào。. wǒ shí diǎn​zhōng shuì​jiào. I sleep at ten o’clock.
我wǒ们men什shén么me时shí候hou去qù？? wǒ​men shén​me shí​hou qù? What time are we going?	我wǒ们men九jiǔ点diǎn去qù。. wǒ​men jiǔ diǎn qù. (At) 9 o’clock we’ll go
他tā在zài哪nǎ里lǐ？? tā zài nǎ​lǐ? Where is he?	他tā在zài北Běi京jīng。. tā zài Běi​jīng. He’s in Beijing
她tā为wèi什shén么me没méi来lái？? tā wèi​shén​me méi lái? Why didn’t she come?	她tā不bù要yào来lái。. tā bù​yào lái. She didn’t want to come.
我wǒ怎zěn么me做zuò？? wǒ zěn​me zuò? How should I do it?	你nǐ慢màn慢màn做zuò。. nǐ màn​màn zuò. You (should) do it slowly.

Asking Yes-no questions in Chinese

There are several ways to ask yes no questions, as follows

Chinese yes-no questions using 吗

You can ask a yes-no question in Chinese by using the 吗ma (ma) character, here are some examples

Statement	吗 Question
他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén。. tā shì Měi​guó rén. He is American.	他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén吗ma？? tā shì Měi​guó rén ma? Is he American? Literally: He is American?
你nǐ忘wàng了le。. nǐ wàng le. You forgot.	你nǐ忘wàng了le吗ma？? nǐ wàng le ma? Did you forget? Literally: You forgot?
他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn。. tā huì zuò​fàn. He can cook.	他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn吗ma？? tā huì zuò​fàn ma? Can he cook? Literally: He can cook
你nǐ去qù英Yīng国guó。. nǐ qù Yīng​guó. You have been to England.	你nǐ去qù英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù Yīng​guó ma? Have you been to England? Literally: You have been to England?

Chinese yes-no questions using affirmative-negative form

You can ask a yes-no question in Chinese using the affirmative-negative form. For this question the verb is simply repeated in the negative form; let’s looking at some examples:

吗 Question	Affiirmative-Negative Question
他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén吗ma？? tā shì Měi​guó rén ma? Is he American?	他tā是shì不bù是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​bù​shì Měi​guó rén? Is he American?
他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn吗ma？? tā huì zuò​fàn ma? Can he cook?	他tā会huì不bù会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā huì bù​huì zuò​fàn? Yes. (literally: can)

When the question of an affirmative-negative question is in the past, 没méi有yǒu (méi​yǒu) is placed at the end of the sentence. Let’s look at some examples:

吗 Question	Affiirmative-Negative 没有 Question
你nǐ忘wàng了le吗ma？? nǐ wàng le ma? Did you forget?	你nǐ忘wàng了le没méi有yǒu？? nǐ wàng le méi​yǒu? Did you forget?
你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó ma? Have you been to England?	你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó没méi有yǒu？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó méi​yǒu? Have you been to England?

Chinese yes-no questions using 是否

Similar to 吗 you can turn a statement into a yes-no qusetion by using 是shì否fǒu (shì​fǒu). 是否 is similar to 是不是. Note that 是否 is most commonly used in written Chinese.

Statement	是否 Question
他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén。. tā shì Měi​guó rén. He is American.	他tā是shì否fǒu是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​fǒu shì Měi​guó rén? Is he American? Literally: He is American?
你nǐ忘wàng了le。. nǐ wàng le. You forgot.	你nǐ是shì否fǒu忘wàng了le？? nǐ shì​fǒu wàng le? Did you forget? Literally: You forgot?
他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn。. tā huì zuò​fàn. He can cook.	他tā是shì否fǒu会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā shì​fǒu huì zuò​fàn? Can he cook? Literally: He can cook
你nǐ去qù英Yīng国guó。. nǐ qù Yīng​guó. You have been to England.	你nǐ是shì否fǒu去qù英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ shì​fǒu qù Yīng​guó ma? Have you been to England? Literally: You have been to England?

Answering “yes” to yes-no question

To answer “yes” to a yes-no 吗ma (ma) question, simply repeat the verb. Let’s look at some examples:

Question	“Yes” Answer (repeat the verb)
吗 Question: 他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén吗ma？? tā shì Měi​guó rén ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 他tā是shì不bù是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​bù​shì Měi​guó rén? 是否 Question: 他tā是shì否fǒu是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​fǒu shì Měi​guó rén? Is he American?	是shì shì Yes. (literally: is)
吗 Question: 你nǐ忘wàng了le吗ma？? nǐ wàng le ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 你nǐ忘wàng了le没méi有yǒu？? nǐ wàng le méi​yǒu? 是否 Question: 你nǐ是shì否fǒu忘wàng了le？? nǐ shì​fǒu wàng le? Did you forget?	忘wàng了le wàng le Yes. (literally: forgot)
吗 Question: 他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn吗ma？? tā huì zuò​fàn ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 他tā会huì不bù会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā huì bù​huì zuò​fàn? 是否 Question: 他tā是shì否fǒu会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā shì​fǒu huì zuò​fàn? Can he cook?	会huì huì Yes. (literally: can)
吗 Question: 你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó ma? 是否 Question: 你nǐ是shì否fǒu去qù英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ shì​fǒu qù Yīng​guó ma? Have you been to England?	去qù过guò qù guò Yes. (literally: been)

Answering “no” to a yes-no question

The most common way to answer “no” to a question, is to simply place 不 infront of the verb:

Question	“No” Answer (repeat the verb with 不)
吗 Question: 他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén吗ma？? tā shì Měi​guó rén ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 他tā是shì不bù是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​bù​shì Měi​guó rén? 是否 Question: 他tā是shì否fǒu是shì美Měi国guó人rén？? tā shì​fǒu shì Měi​guó rén? Is he American?	不bù是shì bù​shì No. (literally: is not)
吗 Question: 他tā会huì做zuò饭fàn吗ma？? tā huì zuò​fàn ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 他tā会huì不bù会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā huì bù​huì zuò​fàn? 是否 Question: 他tā是shì否fǒu会huì做zuò饭fàn？? tā shì​fǒu huì zuò​fàn? Can he cook?	不bù会huì bù​huì Yes. (literally: can)

The alternative way of answering “no” to a yes-no question is to say 没méi有yǒu (méi​yǒu), literally “haven’t, “hasn’t”, or “don’t have”. This answer is used in situations when the question is about something in the past tense, a past event, or a completed action.

Question	“No” Answer (use 没有)
吗 Question: 你nǐ忘wàng了le吗ma？? nǐ wàng le ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 你nǐ忘wàng了le没méi有yǒu？? nǐ wàng le méi​yǒu? 是否 Question: 你nǐ是shì否fǒu忘wàng了le？? nǐ shì​fǒu wàng le? Did you forget?	没méi有yǒu méi​yǒu Yes. (literally: haven’t)
吗 Question: 你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó ma? Affirmative-Negative Question: 你nǐ去qù过guò英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ qù guò Yīng​guó ma? 是否 Question: 你nǐ是shì否fǒu去qù英Yīng国guó吗ma？? nǐ shì​fǒu qù Yīng​guó ma? Have you been to England	没méi有yǒu méi​yǒu No. (literally: haven’t)

Asking Either-or questions in Chinese

To ask an either-or question in Chinese use 还hái是shi (hái​shi), which means “or”. Note that the other common word meaning “or” in Chinese is 或huò者zhě (huò​zhě), however this is used in statements, not questions. Let’s look at some examples

Question using 还是	Statement using 或者
他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén还hái是shi英Yīng国guó人rén？? tā shì Měi​guó rén hái​shi Yīng​guó​rén? He is American or British?	他tā是shì美Měi国guó人rén或huò者zhě英Yīng国guó人rén。. tā shì Měi​guó rén huò​zhě Yīng​guó​rén. He is American or British.
你nǐ要yào喝hē茶chá还hái是shi咖kā啡fēi？? nǐ yào hē​chá hái​shi kā​fēi? Do you want tea or coffee?	我wǒ要yào喝hē茶chá或huò者zhě咖kā啡fēi。. wǒ yào hē​chá huò​zhě kā​fēi. I want tea or coffee.

Conclusion

Hopefully you are now better prepared to ask questiosn in Chinese, however please give us your feedback and questions in the comments.