An embedded (or indirect) question is a question tucked inside a larger sentence — "I don't know who he is," "ask him what time he's coming." In English this triggers two changes: the wh-word moves to the front of the sub-clause, and yes-no questions get wrapped in "whether/if." Chinese does neither. The embedded clause keeps its plain statement order, the question word stays exactly where the answer would go (in-situ), and — the rule that trips everyone up — an embedded yes-no question never takes 吗. Instead you use A-not-A or the formal 是否. Master one idea and the whole area falls into place: an embedded question is just a normal clause slotted in as the object of a verb like 知道, 问, or 告诉.
Wh-questions: the question word stays in place
Chinese question words don't move. In a standalone question, 他是谁 already means "who is he?" — the 谁 sits where the answer belongs. To embed it, you simply make that whole clause the object of a cognition or speech verb. Nothing reorders.
我不知道他是谁。
wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shéi
I don't know who he is. (neutral) — 他是谁 stays in statement order; 谁 does not move to the front.
请告诉我怎么去火车站。
qǐng gàosu wǒ zěnme qù huǒchēzhàn
Please tell me how to get to the train station. (polite) — 怎么去 sits in place after 告诉我.
你问问他几点来。
nǐ wènwen tā jǐ diǎn lái
Ask him what time he's coming. (informal) — 几点来 embedded after 问; no fronting, no 吗.
我忘了把车停在哪儿了。
wǒ wàng le bǎ chē tíng zài nǎr le
I forgot where I parked the car. (informal) — 哪儿 stays in the 把-clause, exactly where the location belongs.
Yes-no questions: A-not-A or 是否, never 吗
This is the crux. A standalone yes-no question uses 吗 (他来吗？ "is he coming?"). But 吗 cannot survive embedding — it only marks a real question aimed at the listener, and an embedded clause is reported content, not a live question. So Chinese switches to A-not-A (来不来), 是不是, or the formal 是否.
我想知道你去不去。
wǒ xiǎng zhīdào nǐ qù bu qù
I want to know whether you're going. (informal) — A-not-A 去不去 carries the yes-no, not 吗.
没人知道会议是不是取消了。
méi rén zhīdào huìyì shì bu shì qǔxiāo le
Nobody knows whether the meeting is cancelled. (neutral) — 是不是 does the 'whether' job inside the clause.
我想知道这件事是否属实。
wǒ xiǎng zhīdào zhè jiàn shì shìfǒu shǔshí
I'd like to know whether this is true. (formal) — 是否 is the written/formal equivalent of A-not-A.
The reframing for English speakers: English "whether/if" is a single conjunction that wraps the clause; Chinese has no such word for embedded yes-no. Instead it reuses the same A-not-A shape you'd use in a direct question and simply drops it into the object slot. And beware the false friend — English "if" also means "whether," but Chinese 如果 only means the conditional "if" (如果下雨，我就不去), never "whether."
| English embedded question | Chinese device | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who / what / where / when / how / why | in-situ question word | 他是谁 (who he is) |
| whether / if (yes-no) | A-not-A | 去不去 (whether … goes) |
| whether / if (yes-no, spoken) | 是不是 | 是不是取消了 |
| whether / if (yes-no, formal) | 是否 | 是否属实 |
| whether A or B | 还是 | 去还是不去 |
Alternative (还是) and reported questions
An embedded "whether A or B" uses 还是, the same choice connector as in direct alternative questions. And when you report a question someone asked, the embedded clause still keeps statement order.
我不确定他去还是不去。
wǒ bú quèdìng tā qù háishi bú qù
I'm not sure whether he's going or not. (neutral) — 还是 links the two options inside the clause.
他没告诉我他为什么迟到。
tā méi gàosu wǒ tā wèishénme chídào
He didn't tell me why he was late. (neutral) — reported wh-question, plain statement order after 告诉.
你知道他住在哪儿吗？
nǐ zhīdào tā zhù zài nǎr ma
Do you know where he lives? (informal) — the 吗 belongs to the MAIN question aimed at you, while the embedded 住在哪儿 has none.
That last example is worth pausing on: 吗 is legal here because it marks the matrix question ("do you know…?") directed at the listener — not the embedded clause. The embedded 住在哪儿 stays 吗-free.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting 吗 into the embedded yes-no clause. This is the number-one error. Swap 吗 for A-not-A or 是否.
❌ 我不知道他来吗。
Incorrect — an embedded yes-no takes A-not-A, not 吗.
✅ 我不知道他来不来。
wǒ bù zhīdào tā lái bu lái
I don't know whether he's coming. — A-not-A carries the yes-no inside the clause.
2. Fronting the question word English-style. Don't move 谁/哪儿/什么 to the front of the embedded clause; keep statement order.
❌ 我不知道谁他是。
Incorrect — English fronting; the clause must stay 他是谁 in statement order.
✅ 我不知道他是谁。
wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shéi
I don't know who he is. — subject 他, then 是谁 in place.
3. Using 如果 for 'whether'. English "if" is a false friend: 如果 is the conditional "if," never the embedded "whether."
❌ 我不知道如果他会来。
Incorrect — 如果 means conditional 'if'; 'whether he'll come' needs A-not-A.
✅ 我不知道他会不会来。
wǒ bù zhīdào tā huì bu huì lái
I don't know whether he'll come. — 会不会 for the embedded yes-no.
4. Forgetting the matrix 吗 when you DO ask the listener. If the whole sentence is a question to the hearer, 吗 goes on the outer clause — just never on the inner one.
✅ 你知道他是不是走了吗？
nǐ zhīdào tā shì bu shì zǒu le ma
Do you know whether he's left? — 吗 on the matrix question, 是不是 inside the embedded clause.
Key Takeaways
- An embedded question is a plain clause in statement order used as the object of a verb like 知道, 想知道, 问, 告诉, 忘了.
- Question words stay in situ — no English-style fronting: 我不知道他是谁, not 我不知道谁他是.
- Embedded yes-no questions use A-not-A / 是不是 / 是否, and take no 吗.
- 吗 can appear only on the outer question directed at the listener, never on the embedded clause.
- Don't use 如果 for "whether" — 如果 is the conditional "if" only.
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- Choice Questions with 还是 (háishi)HSK 2 — An either-or question links the two options with 还是 (háishi) and needs no 吗 — 你喝茶还是喝咖啡？. The crucial split: 还是 is 'or' inside a QUESTION, while 或者 (huòzhě) is 'or' in a STATEMENT.
- A-not-A Questions (是不是, 去不去)HSK 1 — A second neutral way to ask yes/no: juxtapose the positive and negative of the verb or adjective — 去不去, 好不好, 是不是. The middle 不 is toneless, 有 uses 没 (有没有), and you never add 吗.
- 谁 (shéi): Who / WhomHSK 1 — 谁 (shéi, also read shuí) asks 'who' and, staying in place, works as subject (谁来了？), object (你找谁？), or possessor (谁的书？= whose book). No who/whom distinction, no fronting — as an object it stays after the verb.
- Question Words Stay In Place (In Situ)HSK 1 — The single most important rule for Chinese wh-questions: the question word sits exactly where the answer will sit. No fronting, no do-support, no reordering — 你去哪儿？ not ❌哪儿你去？ And because the question word already asks, you never add 吗.