Chinese doesn’t change word order to ask a question. You either add 嗎吗 ma at the end, or put the positive and negative forms of the verb side by side.
1Quick Overview
| Pattern | What it implies |
|---|
| S + V + O + 嗎吗 ma | The most basic, neutral question: “Do you…?” |
| S + 不不 bù / 沒没 méi + V + O + 嗎吗 ma | Surprise: the speaker expected “yes.” |
| S + V + 不不 bù + V + O | Neutral and very common: “Do you… or not?” |
| S + V + O + 不不 bù + V | More direct; can sound impatient or annoyed. |
| S + V + O + 沒有没有 méiyǒu | “Have you… yet?” The speaker assumes it’s probably done. |
| S + 有有 yǒu + V + O + 嗎吗 ma | Taiwan-only: “Did you…?” Not standard Mandarin. |
2Structure
① S + V + O + 嗎吗 ma
The simplest and most common yes-no question: does the person do it?
你吃飯嗎？
你吃饭吗？
Do you eat rice? (Not a common question.)
你喝咖啡嗎？
你喝咖啡吗？
Do you drink coffee?
這是垃圾嗎？
这是垃圾吗？
Is this garbage?
你有貓嗎？
你有猫吗？
Do you have a cat?
② S + 不不 bù / 沒没 méi + V + O + 嗎吗 ma
Adding a negative shows the speaker is surprised and expected the answer to be “yes.”
你不吃飯嗎？
你不吃饭吗？
Don’t you eat?
你不穿衣服嗎？
你不穿衣服吗？
Aren’t you wearing clothes?
你沒給錢嗎？
你没给钱吗？
You didn’t pay?
你沒有貓嗎？
你没有猫吗？
You don’t have a cat?
③ S + V + 不不 bù + V + O
The “A-not-A” question. It’s just as common as 嗎吗 ma and simply asks whether the person does it.
你吃不吃飯？
你吃不吃饭？
Do you eat (rice / a meal)?
這裡賣不賣咖啡？
这儿卖不卖咖啡？
Do they sell coffee here?
你有沒有錢？
你有没有钱？
Do you have money?
他是不是英國人？
他是不是英国人？
Is he British?
④ S + V + O + 不不 bù + V
Moving the negative verb to the end makes the question more direct. It often sounds like the speaker is impatient or annoyed.
你吃飯不吃？
你吃饭不吃？
Are you going to eat or not?
你買手機不買？
你买手机不买？
Are you buying a phone or not?
他看電視沒看？
他看电视没看？
Did he watch TV or not?
你有小三沒有？
你有小三没有？
Do you have a mistress or not?
💡 FYI
小三小三 xiǎosān (“little third”) is slang for the third person in a relationship: a mistress or lover having an affair with one of the partners. It’s common in both Taiwan and mainland China, and you’ll hear it in the media and in everyday conversation.
⑤ S + V + O + 沒有没有 méiyǒu
Asks whether something has already been done. The speaker assumes it probably has, but wants to confirm.
你吃飯沒有？
你吃饭没有？
Have you eaten?
弟弟寫作業沒有？
弟弟写作业没有？
Has your little brother done his homework?
你看新聞沒有？
你看新闻没有？
Have you seen the news?
他有女朋友沒有？
他有女朋友没有？
Does he have a girlfriend?
⑥ S + 有有 yǒu + V + O + 嗎吗 ma
A unique and very common question form in Taiwan. It doesn’t follow standard Mandarin, so avoid it on the HSK exam.
你有吃飯嗎？
你有吃饭吗？
Have you eaten?
你有喝酒嗎？
你有喝酒吗？
Do you drink? / Have you been drinking?
妹妹有去你家嗎？
妹妹有去你家吗？
Did my little sister go to your house?
爸爸有來台灣嗎？
爸爸有来台湾吗？
Did Dad come to Taiwan? / Has Dad come to Taiwan?
📌 Why one question can have two tenses
None of these sentences has a time marker, and Chinese verbs don’t change form for tense. So the same question can be read as present or past, depending on the context.
3Common Mistakes
❌
你吃不吃飯嗎？
你吃不吃饭吗？
✅
你吃不吃飯？
你吃不吃饭？
The “V 不不 V” form is already a question, so don’t add 嗎吗 ma on top of it.
❌
你有不有錢？
你有不有钱？
✅
你有沒有錢？
你有没有钱？
有有 yǒu is always negated with 沒没 méi, so its A-not-A form is 有沒有有没有 yǒu méiyǒu.
4Practice
Translate each sentence into Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.
01Do you like drinking tea?
你喜歡喝茶嗎
你喜欢喝茶吗？
👆 Tap to reveal
02Is this your phone?
這是你的手機嗎
这是你的手机吗？
👆 Tap to reveal
03Don’t you like dogs?
你不喜歡狗嗎
你不喜欢狗吗？
👆 Tap to reveal
04Is she a teacher or not?
她是不是老師
她是不是老师？
👆 Tap to reveal
05Do you have a younger brother?
你有沒有弟弟
你有没有弟弟？
👆 Tap to reveal
06Are you going to eat the cake or not?!
你吃蛋糕不吃
你吃蛋糕不吃？
👆 Tap to reveal
07Have you had dinner yet?
你吃晚飯沒有
你吃晚饭没有？
👆 Tap to reveal
08Did you go to school? Ask it the Taiwanese way.
你有去學校嗎
你有去学校吗？
👆 Tap to reveal
