For the first lesson in 2021, we are going to learn how to ask questions in Chinese. I am sure you are familiar with asking questions using 吗. For example, 吃饭了吗？Chī fàn le ma? Have you eaten? If you want to learn more about 吗, please leave a comment and we will have a lesson on that as well. Besides using 吗 to ask questions in Chinese, you can also use the WH and how to ask questions in Chinese as well.
What are the WH and how questions?
The most commonly used WH and How questions in Chinese are:-
- 什么？Shénme?
- 谁？Shéi?
- 什么时候？几时？几点？Shén me shí hòu? Jǐ shí? Jǐ diǎn?
- 哪儿？哪里？Nǎ er? Nǎ lǐ?
- 为什么？怎么？Wèi shé me? Zěn me?
- 怎么样？ 怎么？Zěn me yàng? Zěn me?
- 几，多少？Jǐ, duō shǎo?
How to ask the WH and How questions in Chinese?
How to use the WH and How questions in Chinese depends on the nature of the questions.
Asking about things: 什么？What?
Asking about people: 谁？Who?
Asking about time: 什么时候？几时？几点？ When?
Asking about location: 哪儿？哪里？Where?
Asking for reason: 为什么？怎么？Why?
Asking about a situation / opinion: 怎么样？ 怎么？How?
Asking about number : 几，多少？
Using What to ask questions in Chinese
The Chinese to English translation for the Chinese word 什么 is ‘What’
Interrogative pronoun like 什么 can be used as subject, predicate and object.
这是什么？zhè shì shén me? What is this? （lit: this is what?）– predicate
什么是生命? shén me shì shēng mìng? What is life? – subject
你找什么？nǐ zhǎo shén me? What are you looking for? （lit: you look for what?）
The WHO question in Chinese
The Interrogative pronoun for Who in Chinese is 谁 shéi or shuí. Just like 什么, it can be used as subject, predicate and object. Examples of sentences in Chinese using WHO,
你是谁？Nǐ shì shéi? Who are you? (lit: you are who?) – predicate
谁吃了我的蛋糕？shéi chī le wǒ de dàn gāo? Who ate my cake? – subject
跟你说话的人是谁？gēn nǐ shuō huà de rén shì shéi? Who were you talking to? (lit: with you talk person who?) – predicate
你在说谁？nǐ zài shuō shéi? Who are you talking about? (lit: you talk who?) – object
How to ask about time in Chinese?
There are 3 different ways in asking the time question in Chinese. You may use 什么时候, 几时 or 几点.
什么时候 可以去旅行? shén me shí hòu kě yǐ qù lǚ xíng? When can we go travelling? (lit: when can go travelling?)
你几时要？Nǐ jǐ shí yào? When do you want it? (lit: you when want?)
现在几点？xiàn zài jǐ diǎn? What time is it now? (lit: now what time?)
The Where question in Chinese
The English translation for where is 哪里 nǎ lǐ or 哪儿 nǎ er？We wrote an article on 哪儿/哪里 previously. If you are interested to read this post, please click here.
你的家在哪儿/哪里？ Nǐ de jiā zài nǎ er / nǎlǐ Where is your house? (lit: your house is where?)
你在哪儿/哪里买花？nǐ zài nǎ er / nǎ lǐ mǎi huā? Where did you buy the flower? (lit: you where buy the flower?)
The Why question in Chinese?
The English to Chinese translation for why is 为什么 wèi shé me / 怎么 zěn me.
我为什么不能？wǒ wèi shé me bù néng ? Why can’t I? (lit: I why can’t?)
你怎么上班迟到了？Nǐ zěn me shàng bān chí dào le? Why are you late for work? (lit: you why for work late?)
你为什么这么爱吃？nǐ wèi shé me zhè me ài chī？ Why you like to eat so much? (lit: you why so much like to eat ?)
How to ask for someone’s opinion in Chinese
When asking people for an opinion, the Chinese word to use is 怎么样？zěn me yàng?
裙子的颜色怎么样？qún zi de yán sè zěn me yàng? How do you think about the color of this dress? (lit: dress color how?)
今晚去卡拉OK怎么样？jīn wǎn qù kǎ lā OK zěn me yàng? How about going to the karaoke tonight? （lit: tonight go karaoke how about?）
怎么样才能学好汉语？zěnme yàng cáinéng xuéhǎo hànyǔ ? How can I learn Chinese well? （lit: how can learn well Chinese?）
Questions about numbers in Chinese
When asking questions about numbers, you can use 几 jǐ or 多少 duō shǎo.
When numbers are from 1 to 10, you use the Chinese word 几. However, when asking questions concerning floors, dates, transportation etc, we normally use 几 (jǐ)even if the numbers are more than 10.
一星期有几天？yī xīng qí yǒu jǐ tiān? How many days are there in a week? (lit: one week have how many days?)
你几岁？Nǐ jǐ suì? How old are you? （lit: you how many years old?）– question towards a child
你家在几层？nǐ jiā zài jǐ céng? Which floor are you on? (lit: your home on how many floor?)
多少 (duō shǎo) on the other hand is not limited by the numbers.
苹果多少钱？Píng guǒ duō shǎo qián? How much are the apples? (lit: apples how much money?)
天上有多少星星？tiān shàng yǒu duō shǎo xīng xīng? How many stars are there in the sky? (lit: sky have how many stars?)
That is all we have about asking questions in Chinese. If you have any questions, please leave your comments. If this post is useful, do remember to share with your friends about our website .
For audio lessons, do visit our youtube channel and hit the subscribe button so you will not miss out any new lessons. See you in our next lesson. Thank you!
