Question words in Chinese

Question Words in Chinese

Posted on by tiffany

Grammar Point:
If we exclude particle question words, there are 9 question words in Chinese: what, when, where, how, who, which, why, and 2 variations of “how many”. However, unlike in English, these question words stay in the same position in the answer sentence, without the need to reverse the order or add an extra adverb.

For example:

Question她 Tā 喜欢 xǐhuan 什么 shénme？
Shelikeswhat？
Answer她 Tā 喜欢 xǐhuan 狗 gǒu
Shelikesdogs
Question老师 Lǎoshī在 zài哪里 nǎlǐ？
Teacheratwhere？
Answer老师 Lǎoshī在 zài家 jiā
Teacherathome

The answer and question usually have the same sentence structure, except for the question word “why”.

What – 什麼/什么 shénme

  • Subject + Verb + Shénme (+ Object) ?

Q：你nǐ想xiǎng吃chī什么shénme？
A：What do you want to eat?
A：我wǒ想xiǎng吃chī火锅huǒguō
A：I want to eat Hotpot.

Q：你nǐ在zài看kàn什么shénme书shū？
A：What book are you reading?
A：我wǒ在zài看kàn哈利波特Hālìbōtè
A：I am reading Harry Potter.

When – 什麼時候/什么时候 shénme shíhòu/shénme shíhou

This word literally means 什么 shénme (what) + 时候 shíhou (when)

  • Subject + Shénme shíhou + Verb?

Q：你nǐ什么时候shénmeshíhou来lái台湾Táiwān？
A：When are you coming to Taiwan?
A：我wǒ明年míngnián5 月yuè去qù台湾Táiwān
A：I am going to Taiwan next May.

Q：我们wǒmen什么时候shénmeshíhou开始kāishǐ上课shàngkè？
A：When do we start class?
A：我们wǒmen9 点diǎn开始kāishǐ上课shàngkè
A：We start class at 9:00.

📕 Don’t know why the time word is not in the end of sentence?

Why – 為什麼/为什么 wèishénme

This word literally means 为 wèi (for) + 什么 shénme (what.) And this is the only one exception that the answer and the question word are in the different positions.

  • Subject + Wèishénme + Verb?
  • Wèishénme + Subject  + Verb?

Q：你nǐ为什么wèishénme来lái台湾Táiwān？
A：Why do you come to Taiwan?
A：我wǒ来lái台湾Táiwān学xué中文Zhōngwén
A：I came to Taiwan to learn Chinese.

Q：她tā为什么wèishénme不bú爱ài我wǒ？
A：Why doesn’t she love me?
A：因为yìnwèi你nǐ不会búhuì中文Zhōngwén
A：Because you don’t know the Chinese language.

Who – 誰/谁 shéi

shéi is the special one, there are 2 positions you can place shéi in a Chinese sentence.

  • Subject + Verb + Shéi? 
  • Shéi + Verb?

Q：你nǐ找zhǎo谁shéi？
A：Who are you looking for?
A：我wǒ找zhǎo林lín老师lǎoshī
A：I am looking for teacher Lin.

Q：那nà个ge人rén是shì谁shéi？
A：Who is that person?
A：那nà个ge人rén是shì我wǒ哥哥gēge
A：That is my elder brother.

Q：谁shéi要yào喝hē咖啡kāfēi？
A：Who wants to drink coffee?
A：我wǒ要yào喝hē咖啡kāfēi：
A：I want to drink coffee.

Where – 哪裡/哪里 nǎlǐ

The question word “where” can be expressed through the Chinese words 哪里 nǎlǐ or 哪儿 nǎr, which have the same meaning. 哪里 nǎlǐ is generally used in Taiwan and southern China, while 哪儿 nǎr is more common in northern China. It is also okay to simply use 哪 nǎ.

  • Subject + Zài/Qù + Nǎ? 
  • Nǎ + Verb + Object？

Q：你nǐ在zài哪里nǎlǐ？
A：Where are you?
A：我wǒ在zài你nǐ心里xīnlǐ
A：I am in your heart.

Q：你nǐ想xiǎng去qù哪儿nǎr？
A：Where do you want to go?
A：我wǒ想xiǎng去qù你nǐ心里xīnlǐ
A：I want to go into your heart.

Q：哪里nǎlǐ有yǒu书店shūdiàn？
A：Is there a bookstore?
A：咖啡店kāfēidiàn旁边pángbiān有yǒu书店shūdiàn
A：There is a bookstore next to the coffee shop.

Which – 哪 nǎ (+ Nu) + MW

Q：你nǐ要yào买mǎi哪nǎ本běn书shū？
A：Which book do you want to buy?
A：我wǒ要yào买mǎi这zhè本běn书shū
A：I want to buy this book.

Q：狗gǒu和hé猫māo， 你nǐ喜欢xǐhuan哪nǎ一yí个ge？
A：Which one do you like, dogs or cats?
A：我wǒ喜欢xǐhuan狗gǒu
A：I like dogs.

How 1 – 怎么 zěnme and 怎么样 zěnme yàng

Depending on the context, 怎么 zěnme can be translated as “how” or “what”. It is used to indicate the manner or method of doing something, or to ask about the way in which something is done. However, when 怎么 zěnme is used in a negated question, it means “how come”.

  • Subject + Zěnme + Verb (+ Object)?
  • Statement + Zěnmeyàng?

Q：你的nǐde名字míngzi怎么zěnme写xiě？
A：How to write your name?
A：我的wǒde名字míngzi这样zhèyáng写xiě
A：My name is written like this.

Q：你的nǐde中文zhōngwén课kè怎么样zěnmeyàng？
A：How was your Chinese lesson?
A：我的wǒde中文zhōngwén课kè很hěn好hǎo
A：My Chinese lesson is great.

Q：他tā怎么zěnme没méi来lái上班shàngbān？
A：How come he did not come to work?
A：他tā生病shēngbìng了le
A：He’s sick.

How 2 – 多 duō + SV

  • Subject + Duō + SV

Q：你nǐ多duō高gāo？
A：How tall are you?
A：我wǒ168 公分gōngfēn
A：I am 168 cm.

Q：从cóng你家nǐjiā到dào学校xuéxiào多duō远yuǎn？
A：How far is it from your home to school?
A：(从cóng我家wǒjiā到dào学校xuéxiào) 走路zǒulù10 分钟fēnzhōng
A：10 mins walk.

How many/ How much I – 多少 duōshǎo

In Chinese, there is no distinction between countable and uncountable nouns. This question word is typically used when you are expecting an answer that is bigger than ten.

  • Subject + Verb + Duōshǎo + Noun

Q：你nǐ有yǒu多少duōshǎo钱qián？
A：How much money do you have?
A：我wǒ有yǒu120 块kuài钱qián
A：I have $120

Q：你nǐ会huì写xiě多少duōshǎo中文zhōngwén字zì？
A：How many Chinese characters can you write?
A：我wǒ会huì写xiě581 个ge中文zhōngwén字zì
A：I can write 581 Chinese characters.

FYI
Great news! Recognizing just 581 of the most commonly used characters can help you understand 80% of written media content. This means that you don’t need to know every single character to be proficient in Chinese – you can start by focusing on the most frequently used ones and build from there. Even if you learn just one character a day, you can understand 80% of written media in less than 2 years. So don’t let the thought of learning Chinese character scare you, embrace the challenge and get started!

How many/ How much II – 幾/几 jǐ

Again, there is no distinction between countable and uncountable nouns in Chinese. This question word is typically used when you are expecting an answer that is less than ten. However, there are some certain situations, we always use 几 jǐ, doesn’t matter the answer we expected is less than ten or not. For example, dates and time.

  • Subject + Verb + Jǐ + Measure Word (+ Noun)

Q：你nǐ有yǒu几jī块kuài钱qián？
A：How much money do you have?
A：我wǒ有yǒu2 块kuài钱qián
A：I have $2.

Q：她tā有yǒu几jī只zhī狗gǒu？
A：How many dogs does she have?
A：她tā有yǒu3 只zhī狗gǒu
A：He has 3 dogs.

Q：现在xiànzài几jī点diǎn？
A：What time is it now?
A：现在xiànzài11 点diǎn
A：It’s 11 o’clock.

Q：今天jīntiān几jī号hào？
A：What date is today?
A：(lit. How many day is today?)
A：今天jīntiān25 号hào
A：Today is 25th.

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