A field guide for learners
Chinese Question Words
Who, what, where, how, why, how many — the whole 5W1H set has a Chinese counterpart. The words themselves are simple; the trick is knowing which of two near-synonyms fits a given sentence.
The set
Overview
| Word | Meaning | Asks about |
|---|---|---|
| 誰谁 | who | a person |
| 什麼什么 | what | a thing, or “what kind of” |
| 哪哪 | which | one out of a set |
| 哪裡哪里 | where | a place |
| 怎麼怎么 | how | manner, method |
| 為什麼为什么 | why | a reason |
| 幾几 | how many | a small, specific number |
| 多少多少 | how many / how much | any quantity, no upper limit assumed |
| 什麼時候什么时候 | when | a point in time |
Word order
English fronts its question words — “What are you eating?” moves “what” to the very front, away from where it would sit in the answer. Chinese doesn’t. A question word simply fills the same slot the answer would occupy, covered in more depth in Chinese Sentence Structure. In every section below, the first example is a question-and-answer pair — the question word and the word replacing it in the answer are both marked in gold, so you can see the two sitting in exactly the same spot. (One exception: 为什么, flagged where it comes up.)
People
谁 shéi — who
Who is your teacher?
Teacher Lin is my teacher. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Things
什么 shénme — what
What is this?
This is a book. — same slot, now filled with the answer
One out of a set
哪 nǎ — which
哪 nǎ almost always needs company — a measure word (usually 个 ge) plus a noun, forming “which [noun].”
Which one do you want?
I want this one. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Places
哪里 nǎlǐ — where
Its own fixed word for “where,” built from 哪 + “place.”
Where’s the bookstore?
The bookstore is over there. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Manner
怎么 zěnme — how
How do you get to school?
I take the bus to school. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Reason
为什么 wèishénme — why
Why are you crying?
Because I’m sad.
An exception to the rule
为什么 breaks the pattern above — the answer doesn’t slot into the same spot in the sentence. Instead of “you [reason] cry,” the reply starts fresh with its own 因为 yīnwèi (“because”) clause, sitting in front of the sentence rather than filling 为什么‘s exact position.
Small, specific numbers
几 jǐ — how many
几 jǐ assumes the answer is a small, specific number — usually under ten — and, like any number in Chinese, needs its own measure word right after it.
How many people are in your family?
My family has five people. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Any quantity
多少 duōshao — how many / how much
多少 duōshao makes no assumption about size at all, and skips the measure word entirely.
How much money do you have?
I have a thousand dollars. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Time
什么时候 shénme shíhou — when
When are you going home?
I’m going home at five. — same slot, now filled with the answer
Not the whole picture
Question words like these only cover part of how Chinese asks things. There’s a separate system for yes/no questions — 吗 ma, verb-not-verb, and the like — covered on its own in Yes/No Questions, not something this article goes into.
