Top 10 Chinese Question Words

As a Chinese learner, learning specific Chinese question words and phrases is very important! In this post, we’ll learn question words in Mandarin Chinese, and see how they are used in sentences.

What – 什么 shénme
S. +V. + 什么 (+ O.)?
Example:
nǐ xìng shén me？
你 姓什么?
What’s your last name?

nǐ jiào shénme míngzi ？
你 叫 什么 名字？
What’s your name?
*S= subject, V= Verb, O=Object

Why- 为什么 wèi shénme
S. + 为什么+ V. (+ O.)?
Example:
nǐ wèi shén me xué hàn yǔ?
你为什么学 汉语？
Why do you study Chinese?

When – 什么时候 shénme shíhou
S.+ 什么时候+ V.(+ O.)?
Example:
nǐ shénmeshíhòu chū guó?
你 什么时候 出 国？
When are you going abroad?

Which- 哪 nǎ
S. + V.＋哪+ measure word (+ O.)?
Example:
nǐ mǎi nǎ běn shū？
你 买 哪 本 书？
Which book do you buy?

Where- 哪儿nǎr/哪里nǎ lǐ
S. + V.＋哪 (+ O.)
Example:
Nǐ qù nǎr？
你去哪儿？
Where are you going?

Subject + 在 + 哪里 / 哪儿？
Example:
nǐ zài nǎr?
你在哪儿？
Where are you?

Who- 谁 shéi/shui
S. + V. ＋谁 ?
Example:
nà ge rén shì shéi？
那个人是谁？
Who is that person?

whose -谁的 shéi de /shui de
S. + V. ＋谁的 (+O.)?
Example:
zhè shì shéide shū？
这是谁的书/护照？
Whose book is this ?

How many/how much(>10)–多少 duōshǎo
多少 + O.?
Example:
duō shǎo qián?
多少钱？
How much does it cost?

How many/how much (<10) – 几 jǐ
几 + Measure Word + Object?
Example:
duō shǎo qián?
今天几号？
What’s the date today?

nǐ jǐ diǎn shàng hàn yǔ kè？
你几点上汉语课？
What time is your Chinese class?

How – 怎么 zěnme
S. + 怎么+V. + O.?
Example:
nǐ zěnme xué hànyǔ ?
你 怎么 学 汉语？
How do you learn Chinese?

We hope that you’re now ready to use the knowledge on how to use Chinese question words in the real world.
If you have more about Chinese language learning,  click 5 Most Common Mistakes When Learning Chinese!