Yes-No Questions in Chinese

Grammar Point:
There are six different ways to ask yes-no questions in Chinese, and the choice of which one to use can depend on factors such as location, occasion, and the people being spoken to.

Structure

S + V + O + 嗎/吗 ma

This is the most simple and common yes-no question asking whether the person does it.

你nǐ吃chī飯fàn嗎ma？ 你nǐ吃chī饭fàn吗ma？
Do you eat rice? (This not a common question.)

你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi嗎ma？ 你nǐ喝hē咖啡kāfēi吗ma？
Do you drink coffee?

這zhè是shì垃圾lèsè嗎ma？ 这zhè是shì垃圾lājī吗ma？
Is this garbage?

你nǐ有yǒu貓māo嗎ma？ 你nǐ有yǒu猫māo吗ma？
Do you have a cat?

S + Neg + V + O + 嗎/吗 ma

This is a yes-no question that implies that the speaker is surprised or expects the answer to be “yes.”

你nǐ不bù吃chī飯fàn嗎ma？ 你nǐ不bù吃chī饭fàn吗ma？
Don’t you eat?

你nǐ不bù穿chuān衣服yīfú嗎ma？ 你nǐ不bù穿chuān衣服yīfu吗ma？
Don’t you wear clothes?

你nǐ沒méi給gěi錢qián嗎ma？ 你nǐ没méi给gěi钱qián吗ma？
Did you not pay?

你nǐ沒有méiyǒu貓māo嗎ma？ 你nǐ没有méiyǒu猫māo吗ma？
You don’t have a cat?

S + V + Neg + V + O

This is another very simple and common yes-no question, asking whether the person does it.

你nǐ吃chī不bù吃chī飯fàn？ 你nǐ吃chī不bù吃chī饭fàn？
Do you eat (rice or a meal)?

這裡zhèlǐ賣mài不賣búmài咖啡kāfēi？ 这儿zhèr卖mài不卖búmài咖啡kāfēi？
Do they sell coffee here?

你nǐ有yǒu沒有méiyǒu錢qián？ 你nǐ有yǒu没有méiyǒu钱qián？
Do you have money?

他tā是shì不是búshì英國人yìngguórén？ 他tā是shì不是búshì英国人yìngguórén？
Is he British?

S + V + O + Neg + V

This is a question asking if the person does something or not. It is a more direct way of asking than the first sentence, and it also implies that the speaker is feeling annoyed.

你nǐ吃chī飯fàn不bù吃chī？ 你nǐ吃chī饭fàn不bù吃chī？
Are you going to eat or not?

你nǐ買mǎi手機shǒujī不bù買mǎi？ 你nǐ买mǎi手机shǒujī不bù买mǎi？
Do you want to buy a phone or not?

他tā看kàn電視diànshì沒méi看kàn？ 他tā看kàn电视diànshì没méi看kàn？
Did he watch TV or not?

你nǐ有yǒu小三xiǎosān沒有méiyǒu？ 你nǐ有yǒu小三xiǎosān没有méiyǒu？
Do you have a mistress or not?

FYI
The Chinese slang term 小三 xiǎo sān is used to refer to a third person in a romantic relationship, like a mistress or lover who’s having an affair with one of the partners. It’s a pretty common term in both China and Taiwan and you might hear it in the media or everyday conversation.

S + V + O + 沒有 méiyǒu

This is a yes-no question that is asking whether the person has already done it or not. It indicates the speaker assumes that the listener has likely already done it, but is not certain and wants to confirm.

你nǐ吃chī飯fàn沒有méiyǒu？ 你nǐ吃chī饭fàn没有méiyǒu？
Have you eaten?

弟弟dìdi寫xiě作業zuòyè沒有méiyǒu？ 弟弟dìdi写xiě作业zuòyè没有méiyǒu？
Has your brother written his homework?

你nǐ看kàn新聞xīnwén沒有méiyǒu？ 你nǐ看kàn新闻xīnwén没有méiyǒu？
Have you seen the news?

他tā有yǒu女朋友nǚpéngyǒu沒有méiyǒu？ 他tā有yǒu女朋友nǚpéngyou没有méiyǒu？
Does he have a girlfriend?

S + 有 yǒu + V + O + 嗎/吗 ma

This is a unique but very common way to ask yes-no questions in Taiwan, but it does not conform to standard Mandarin. Therefore, if you are taking the HSK exam, you should not use this question form.

你nǐ有yǒu吃chī飯fàn嗎ma？ 你nǐ有yǒu吃chī饭fàn吗ma？
Have you eaten?

你nǐ有yǒu喝hē酒jiǔ嗎ma？ 你nǐ有yǒu喝hē酒jiǔ吗ma？
Do you drink? or Have you been drinking?

妹妹mèimei有yǒu去qù你nǐ家jiā嗎ma？ 妹妹mèimei有yǒu去qù你nǐ家jiā吗ma？
Did my sister go to your house?

爸爸bàba有yǒu來lái台灣Táiwān嗎ma？ 爸爸bàba有yǒu来lái台湾Táiwān吗ma？
Did Dad come to Taiwan? or Has Dad come to Taiwan?

Note: The reason why each sentence can have a different tense is that the above sentences do not have any Chinese time markers. Therefore, it is possible to use either tense depending on the context.

• Using 是不是 shìbúshì make a yse- no question (HSK 2)