Alongside 吗, Chinese has a second, equally common way to ask a yes/no question: the A-not-A pattern. You simply say the verb or adjective, then 不, then the same word again — 去不去, 好不好, 是不是. Read it literally and it's beautifully transparent: "go not-go?", "good not-good?" — you lay both possible answers on the table and let the listener pick one. It asks the same thing a 吗 question asks, but it feels a shade more neutral and even-handed, because you're not leaning either way; you're offering the choice outright. It also carries a small piece of built-in machinery you have to get right.
The pattern: A + 不 + A
Take the predicate — a verb or an adjective — and repeat it around 不. The middle 不 is toneless (a light, quick bu), not the full fourth-tone 不 you'd use to negate a plain statement.
| Predicate | A-not-A form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 去 (go) | 去不去 | are (you) going? |
| 好 (good) | 好不好 | is it OK / good? |
| 是 (be) | 是不是 | is it / are (you)? |
| 贵 (expensive) | 贵不贵 | is it expensive? |
| 有 (have) | 有没有 | is there / do (you) have? |
明天你来不来？
míngtiān nǐ lái bu lái
Are you coming tomorrow? (informal) — 来不来 lays both options out for the listener.
这件衣服贵不贵？
zhè jiàn yīfu guì bu guì
Is this piece of clothing expensive? (informal) — adjectives take A-not-A too: 贵不贵.
你饿不饿？先吃点东西吧。
nǐ è bu è? xiān chī diǎn dōngxi ba
Are you hungry? Have a bite first. (informal) — a warm, natural way to check in.
The one irregular: 有 takes 没, not 不
Chinese negates 有 ("to have / there is") with 没, never 不 — and A-not-A inherits that. So the form is 有没有, and 有不有 simply doesn't exist. This is the one place the pattern isn't purely mechanical, so lock it in. (有 belongs to a small set of verbs negated only by 没, never 不 — that's the reason.)
你有没有时间？我想问你个事。
nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shíjiān? wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ ge shì
Do you have time? I want to ask you something. (informal) — 有没有, never 有不有.
这附近有没有地铁站？
zhè fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu dìtiě zhàn
Is there a subway station near here? (neutral) — existential 有 in A-not-A: 有没有.
Two-syllable predicates: 喜不喜欢
With a disyllabic verb or adjective like 喜欢 (xǐhuan) or 认识 (rènshi), you have two options. The full form repeats the whole word (喜欢不喜欢); the tidy, more common short form repeats only the first syllable before 不 and gives the full word after (喜不喜欢). What you can never do is chop the second copy short.
| Verb | Full form | Short form (more common) |
|---|---|---|
| 喜欢 (like) | 喜欢不喜欢 | 喜不喜欢 |
| 认识 (know sb.) | 认识不认识 | 认不认识 |
| 知道 (know sth.) | 知道不知道 | 知不知道 |
你喜不喜欢这里的生活？
nǐ xǐ bu xǐhuan zhèlǐ de shēnghuó
Do you like life here? (informal) — the neat short form 喜不喜欢.
你知不知道他去哪儿了？
nǐ zhī bu zhīdào tā qù nǎr le
Do you know where he went? (informal) — 知不知道; note the embedded 哪儿 belongs to the inner clause, not the main question.
A-not-A vs 吗, and a restriction
A-not-A and 吗 are interchangeable for most yes/no questions, with only a whisper of difference — A-not-A sounds a touch more neutral and direct. But two rules keep them apart. First, A-not-A already is a complete question, so it can never take 吗 — the two markers are mutually exclusive. Second, A-not-A doesn't mix with degree/scope adverbs like 很 (very), 也 (also), or 都 (all): you say 好不好, not 很好不好, because the pattern itself is the question and there's no room for 很.
这个是不是你的？
zhège shì bu shì nǐ de
Is this yours? (neutral) — clean A-not-A on 是; no 吗 attached.
你认不认识那个人？
nǐ rèn bu rènshi nàge rén
Do you know that person? (informal) — 认不认识, a plain neutral yes/no.
Common Mistakes
1. Writing 有不有 instead of 有没有. 有 is negated by 没, so its A-not-A must use 没.
❌ 你有不有时间？
Incorrect — 有 negates with 没, so it's 有没有: 你有没有时间?
✅ 你有没有时间？
nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shíjiān
Do you have time? (informal) — 有没有 is the only correct form.
2. Adding 吗 on top of A-not-A. The pattern is already a full question; 吗 is redundant and ungrammatical.
❌ 你去不去吗？
Incorrect — 去不去 is already a question; drop 吗. Say 你去不去? or 你去吗?
✅ 你去不去？
nǐ qù bu qù
Are you going (or not)? (neutral) — A-not-A stands alone.
3. Truncating the second copy of a two-syllable verb. You may shorten the first copy (喜不…) but the second must be the full word.
❌ 你喜欢不喜？
Incorrect — the second copy stays full. Use 你喜不喜欢? or 你喜欢不喜欢?
✅ 你喜不喜欢？
nǐ xǐ bu xǐhuan
Do you like it? (informal) — first copy shortened, second copy full.
4. Slipping 很 (or 也/都) into an A-not-A. Degree and scope adverbs don't co-occur with the pattern; drop them.
❌ 这个很好不好？
Incorrect — no 很 with A-not-A; the pattern is the question: 这个好不好?
✅ 这个好不好？
zhège hǎo bu hǎo
Is this one OK? (informal) — bare A-not-A, no degree adverb.
Key Takeaways
- A-not-A (verb/adjective + 不 + verb/adjective) is a second neutral yes/no question — 去不去, 好不好, 是不是 — meaning the same as a 吗 question but feeling more even-handed.
- The middle 不 is toneless; say it light and quick.
- 有 is irregular: 有没有, never 有不有, because 有 negates with 没.
- Two-syllable verbs give 喜不喜欢 (short) or 喜欢不喜欢 (full) — but never truncate the second copy.
- A-not-A is already a full question: never add 吗, and don't slip in degree adverbs like 很/也/都.
Now practice Chinese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Yes-No Questions with 吗 (ma)HSK 1 — The default way to ask a yes/no question: take a complete statement, change nothing, and add 吗 (ma) at the end. 你有时间吗? Answer by echoing the verb, not with a word for 'yes'.
- A-not-A with Two-Syllable Verbs (喜不喜欢)HSK 2 — With a two-syllable verb or adjective, A-not-A usually copies only the FIRST syllable in the front slot — 喜不喜欢, 知不知道, 高不高兴 — with the full word after 不. The full 喜欢不喜欢 is also correct; never truncate the second copy.
- 是不是 (shì bu shì) for ConfirmationHSK 2 — 是不是 is a movable confirmation tag — 'right? / is it the case that…?' — that sits at the front, after the subject, or at the end without being the main verb: 你是不是累了？／是不是你忘了？／你忘了，是不是？ It presupposes your guess and asks the listener to confirm it.
- 没(有) (méi yǒu): Negating 有 and Completed ActionHSK 1 — 没(有) does two jobs: it is the only way to negate 有 (有 is never 不有), and it negates completed or experienced actions — 我没吃 'I didn't eat', dropping the 了. Think of 没 as the completion/existence/change negator.