How to use ne 呢 in Chinese

The ne character 呢ne (ne) is a special character that can be used in two ways, to ask a reciprocal question, or to add mood to a question or statement.

Using 呢 to ask a reciprocal question

呢ne (ne) can be added to the end of questions to add a perplexed, puzzled or questioning tone to the question making it a reciprocal question. Here are some examples:

Where did he go?	他tā去qù哪nǎ儿r？? (tā qù nǎ​r?)
Where could he have gone?	他tā去qù哪nǎ儿r呢ne？? (tā qù nǎ​r ne?)
Why are you cooking?	你nǐ为wèi什shén么me做zuò饭fàn？? (nǐ wèi​shén​me zuò​fàn?)
What are you cooking for?	你nǐ为wèi什shén么me做zuò饭fàn呢ne？? (nǐ wèi​shén​me zuò​fàn ne?)
You	你nǐ (nǐ)
What about you?	你nǐ呢ne？? (nǐ ne?)

Using 呢 as a modal particle in a statement

呢ne (ne) can be added to the end of a statement or sentence to add a convincing tone or mood. When used in this way 呢 is referred to as a modal particle, that is they essentially communicate the mood of what the speaker thinks about the sentence.

(it’s) very slow!	很hěn慢màn呢ne！! (hěn màn ne!)
she is very busy!	她tā很hěn忙máng呢ne！! (tā hěn máng ne!)
How come you haven’t gone home yet?	怎zěn么me还hái没méi回huí家jiā呢ne？? (zěn​me hái méi huí​jiā ne?)
He’s fat!	他tā很hěn胖pàng呢ne！! (tā hěn pàng ne!)