Is it preventing you from conversing with your Chinese friend because you can’t think of the right Chinese question words to use? If that’s the case, you should keep reading this blog to learn additional Chinese question terms!
Like English, Chinese contains a set of question terms. If you’ve been studying Chinese for some time, you should have a firm grasp of Chinese grammar and be capable of putting together complete sentences. The next thing to do is to include a proper Chinese question word in your conversation. Many common and helpful Chinese question words are covered in this blog post. In that case, let’s have a look!
Chinese Question Words You Need
Here are all the question words in Chinese you need to know!
1. Question Mark – 吗 (Ma)
The great truth is that all you have to do to turn any sentence into a question is to add the character (ma) to the end of it. A sentence containing the character 吗 (ma) will automatically become a question. Let’s look at the following examples.
- Is it delicious? – 好吃吗? (hǎo chī ma?)
- How are you? – 你好吗? (nǐ hǎo ma?)
- Do you understand? – 你明白吗? (nǐ míngbái ma?)
- Do you want to drink tea? – 你想喝茶吗? (nǐ xiǎng hē chá ma?)
2. What? – 什么 (Shén Me)
Sentence structure 1: Subject + Verb + 什么
Sentence structure 2: Subject + Verb + 什么 + Noun
3. Where? – 哪里 (Nǎ Lǐ)
There are two words that mean “where.” First, 哪里 (nǎ li) is commonly spoken in the Southern region of China. While 哪儿 (nǎr) is used more in the country’s Northern area.
Sentence structure 1: Subject + Verb + 哪里/哪儿
Sentence structure 2: Subject + Verb + 哪里/哪儿 + Noun
4. When? – 什么时候 (Shén Me Shí Hou)
Sentence structure 1: Subject + 什么时候 + Verb + Object
Sentence structure 2: Subject + Verb + 什么时候
5. Who? – 谁 (Shéi)
Sentence structure: Subject + Verb + 谁
6. Whose? – 谁的 (Shéi De)
Sentence structure: Subject + Verb + 谁的 + Noun
7. Why? – 为什么 (Wèi Shén Me)
Sentence structure 1: Subject + 为什么 + Adjective
Sentence structure 2: Subject + 为什么 + Verb + Noun
8. How Much?/What Number? – 多少 (Duō Shǎo)
Sentence structure 1: Subject + Verb + 多少
9. How Much? – 多少钱？ (Duō Shǎo Qián?)
Sentence structure: Subject + 多少钱
- How much is this? – 这个多少钱？ (zhè ge duō shǎo qián?)
- How much is your phone? – 你的手机多少钱？ (nǐ de shǒu jī duō shao qián？)
10. How Many Times? – 多少次 (Duō Shao Cì)
Sentence structure: Subject + Verb + Object + 多少次
11. How Big?/What Size?/How Old? – 多大 (Duō Dà)
Sentence structure 1: Subject + 多大
Sentence structure 2: Subject + Verb + 多大 + Noun
12. How Long (Time)? – 多久 (Duō Jiǔ)
Sentence structure: Subject + Verb + Object + 多久
13. How Long (Time)? – 多长 (Duō Cháng)
Sentence structure: …~多长 + Noun
- How long does it take to get from here to the airport? – 从这里到飞机场要多长时间？ (cóng zhè lǐ dào fēi jī chǎng yào duō cháng shí jiān？)
14. How Often? – 多久…一次？ (Duō Jiǔ… Yī Cì？)
Sentence structure: Subject + 多久 + Verb + Object + 一次
- How often do you watch movies? – 你多久看电影一次？ (nǐ duō jiǔ kàn diàn yǐng yī cì？)
- How often do you see your boyfriend? – 你多久见男朋友一次？ (nǐ duō jiǔ jiàn nán péng you yī cì？)
15. How Many? – 几 个？ (Jǐ Gè)
Sentence structure: Subject + Verb + 几 个 + Noun
16. How Old? – 几岁？ (Jǐ Suì)
Sentence structure: Subject + 几岁 + (了)
17. What Time? – 几点 (Jǐ Diǎn)
Sentence structure: Subject + 几点 + Verb + Object
- What time is your Chinese class? – 你几点上中文课？ (nǐ jǐ diǎn shàng zhōng wén kè？)
- What time do you get off work? – 你几点下班？ (nǐ jǐ diǎn xià bān？)
18. How? – 怎么 (Zěn Me)
Sentence structure: Subject + 怎么 + Verb + Object
- How do you learn Chinese? – 你怎么学中文？ (nǐ zěn me xué zhōng wén？)
- How are you going to school tomorrow? – 你明天怎么去学校？ (nǐ míng tiān zěn me qù xué xiào？)
19. How? – 怎么样 (Zěn Me Yàng)
Sentence structure: Subject + 怎么样
- How is your Chinese? – 你的中文怎么样？ (nǐ de zhōng wén zěn me yàng？)
- How is the coffee here? – 这里的咖啡怎么样？ (zhè lǐ de kā fēi zěn me yàng？)
20. Which? – 哪个 (Nǎ Ge)
Sentence structure 1: 哪个 + Noun
Sentence structure 2: Subject + Verb + 哪个
In Summary
These words represent typical questions people ask. Once you’ve mastered all Chinese question words, you can ask the locals whatever question you want just by adding the appropriate question word to the sentence. You can better communicate with the locals if you take the time to prepare and practice using actual sentences.
Also, you will need to master question words and other Chinese vocabulary to construct the sentence. In light of this, we recommend you get the best app available for learning Chinese, and we know the answer!
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