Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Question-Words

Question Words (QW)

Hello, Chinese learners! Today, we'll learn about Mandarin Chinese question words. These words help you ask questions.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Complex Verb Phrases & Modal Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs.

In the example “她给你什么？”, “什么” is a question word, meaning “what”.

Other question words include:

• “谁shuí” (who),
• “谁的shuíde” (whose),
• “哪里nǎlǐ” (where),
• “哪个nǎgè” (which),
• “怎么zěnme” (how),
• “什么 时候shénme shíhòu” (when),
• “为什么wèishénme” (why), etc.

In Chinese, the word order of the question is always the same as the word order of the answer. So, to answer this question, we simply replace “什么” with whatever you want to express. In contrast, the word order of the question in English is often different from that of the answer, e.g. Q: What do you want? A: I want a pen.

Remember that questions formed by using question words do not need question particle “吗”.

QW as Subject

S (QW) + V + O

• shuí chī pínɡɡuǒ？

谁 吃 苹果？

Who eats apples?

• wǒ chī pínɡɡuǒ.

我 吃 苹果。

I eat apples.

• 你们学校有多少学生？(How many students are there in your school?)
• 她们是谁？(Who are they?)
• 今天天气怎么样？(How's the weather today?)
• 哪个城市比较热？(Which city is hotter?)

QW as Object

S + V + O (QW)

• nǐ chī shénme？

你 吃 什么？

What do you eat?

• wǒ chī pínɡɡuǒ.

我吃苹果。

I eat apples.

• 你在哪里买的书？(Where did you buy the book?)
• 你喜欢什么颜色的衣服？(What color of clothes do you like?)
• 你什么时候回来？(When will you come back?)
• 你在干什么？(What are you doing?)

QW as Modifyer

Question words can also precedes the noun to modify it

• nǐ xǐhuān shénme lǐwù.

你 喜欢 什么 礼物。

What gifts do you like?

• shuíde mínɡzi jiào xiǎomínɡ？

谁的 名字 叫 小明？

Whose name is called Xiao Ming?

• 你们想吃什么菜？(What dishes do you want to eat?)
• 你喜欢哪种音乐？(What kind of music do you like?)
• 这是什么品牌的手机？(What brand of phone is this?)
• 你们想去哪个地方旅游？(Which place do you want to travel to?)

Other Examples

Here's a table with the six question words, an example phrase for each in Chinese, the pinyin, and the English translation:

Question Word	Chinese Example	Pinyin Example	English Translation
什么 (shénme)	你喜欢什么颜色？	Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yánsè?	What color do you like?
谁 (shuí)	谁是你的老师？	Shuí shì nǐ de lǎoshī?	Who is your teacher?
哪 (nǎ/něi)	你住在哪个城市？	Nǐ zhù zài nǎ gè chéngshì?	Which city do you live in?
几 (jǐ)	你有几个兄弟姐妹？	Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè xiōngdì jiěmèi?	How many siblings do you have?
多少 (duōshǎo)	这件衣服多少钱？	Zhè jiàn yīfu duōshǎo qián?	How much is this piece of clothing?
为什么 (wèishénme)	你为什么迟到了？	Nǐ wèishénme chídào le?	Why are you late?

Conclusion

It's worth noting that some QWs have multiple meanings depending on the context. For example, 谁 (shuí) can mean "who" or "whom", and 哪 (nǎ) can mean "where" or "which". In these cases, it's important to pay attention to the context to determine the intended meaning.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that some QWs, such as 怎么 (zěnme) and 为什么 (wèishénme), can be used to form more complex questions by combining them with other words. For example:

• 怎么样 (zěnme yàng) means "how about" or "what do you think".
• 为什么不 (wèishénme bù) means "why not".

In summary, QWs are a fundamental part of asking questions in Chinese, and mastering their usage is essential for effective communication in a variety of contexts.

References

More Chinese grammar lessons can be found here: https://www.hskcourse.com/hsk-grammar-exercises/

Other Lessons

• 叫 (jiào)
• Tones Introduction
• Common and Proper Nouns
• How to ask a question in Chinese
• Express existence with 有 (yǒu)
• Comparative Form and Usage
• 是...的
• Action Verbs and Stative Verbs
• Ask for directions in Chinese
• Separable verbs