If you remember one thing about Chinese questions, make it this: a question has the same word order as the matching statement. English rebuilds a sentence to ask it — it flips the subject and verb ("You are → Are you?") and drafts in a helper verb out of nowhere ("You like it → Do you like it?"). Chinese does neither. There is no inversion, no "do/does/did," no auxiliary leaping to the front. You take the statement, leave every word exactly where it stands, and mark it as a question in one of two ways: add a question particle at the end, or swap the unknown piece for a question word left sitting in its normal slot. This page maps the whole system; the individual patterns each get their own page.
The core move: don't rebuild, just mark
Watch the statement skeleton survive untouched. Adding 吗 (ma) turns an assertion into a yes/no question with zero reshuffling; replacing the unknown with a question word leaves the frame intact.
| Statement | Question | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 你是学生 (you are a student) | 你是学生吗？(are you a student?) | added 吗 |
| 他去北京 (he goes to Beijing) | 他去哪儿？(where does he go?) | 北京 → 哪儿, same slot |
| 你叫王明 (you're called Wang Ming) | 你叫什么名字？(what's your name?) | 王明 → 什么名字, same slot |
你是学生吗？
nǐ shì xuésheng ma
Are you a student? (neutral) — the statement 你是学生 is left whole; only 吗 is added.
他去哪儿？
tā qù nǎr
Where is he going? (neutral) — 哪儿 sits exactly where the answer 北京 would go: 他去北京.
你叫什么名字？
nǐ jiào shénme míngzi
What's your name? (neutral) — 什么名字 fills the object slot, right where a real name would.
The four main ways to ask
Chinese assembles all its questions from a small toolkit. Here are the four you'll use daily, each keeping statement order:
| Type | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 吗 particle | statement + 吗 | 你去吗？(are you going?) |
| A-not-A | verb + 不 + verb | 你去不去？(are you going?) |
| Question word | unknown → 谁/什么/哪儿/…, in situ | 你去哪儿？(where are you going?) |
| 还是 choice | option A 还是 option B | 你喝茶还是咖啡？(tea or coffee?) |
The first two — 吗 and A-not-A — are your two ways to ask a yes/no question, and they mean almost the same thing. Question words handle open questions (who, what, where, when, why, how), and 还是 (háishi) offers a choice between named options. A fifth tiny tool, the follow-up particle 呢 (ne), recycles a question onto a new topic: 我很好，你呢？("I'm well — and you?").
你喝茶还是咖啡？
nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi
Would you like tea or coffee? (informal) — 还是 lays out two options; the sentence order is otherwise a plain statement.
我很好，你呢？
wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne
I'm doing well — and you? (informal) — 呢 bounces the same question to a new subject with no repetition.
这是谁的书？
zhè shì shéi de shū
Whose book is this? (neutral) — 谁的 sits where a possessor like 我的 would; nothing fronts.
Question words stay put (in situ)
This is where English habits do the most damage. English fronts its question words — "Where are you going?", "What do you want?" — dragging them to the start and adding a helper. Chinese keeps the question word in situ: exactly where its answer belongs. Compare the pair below and notice how 哪儿 and 北京 occupy the identical position.
——你去哪儿？——我去北京。
— nǐ qù nǎr — wǒ qù Běijīng
'Where are you going?' 'I'm going to Beijing.' (informal) — 哪儿 and 北京 sit in the very same slot after 去.
你什么时候来？
nǐ shénme shíhou lái
When are you coming? (informal) — 什么时候 stays in the time-adverbial slot, before the verb, just as a real time would.
你想吃什么？
nǐ xiǎng chī shénme
What do you want to eat? (informal) — 什么 sits in the object slot after 吃, no fronting, no 'do'.
Common Mistakes
1. Fronting the question word, English-style. The question word stays where the answer goes; don't drag it to the front.
❌ 哪儿你去？
Incorrect — don't front 哪儿. Keep statement order: 你去哪儿?
✅ 你去哪儿？
nǐ qù nǎr
Where are you going? (neutral) — 哪儿 stays in its normal slot.
2. Adding 吗 to a question that already has a question word. A question word (谁/什么/哪儿…) already asks; 吗 on top is ungrammatical.
❌ 你去哪儿吗？
Incorrect — 哪儿 already makes it a question; drop 吗: 你去哪儿?
✅ 你去哪儿？
nǐ qù nǎr
Where are you going? (neutral) — one question marker is enough.
3. Inverting the subject and verb. There is no "Are you…" flip; the subject stays first.
❌ 是你学生吗？
Incorrect — don't invert like English 'Are you…'. Subject first: 你是学生吗?
✅ 你是学生吗？
nǐ shì xuésheng ma
Are you a student? (neutral) — subject–verb order unchanged, 吗 at the end.
4. Stacking 吗 onto a 还是 or A-not-A question. 还是 and A-not-A are already complete questions; 吗 can't join them.
❌ 你喝茶还是咖啡吗？
Incorrect — 还是 already asks the question; no 吗: 你喝茶还是咖啡?
✅ 你喝茶还是咖啡？
nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi
Tea or coffee? (informal) — 还是 alone marks the choice question.
Key Takeaways
- A Chinese question keeps the statement's word order — no inversion, no "do/does/did," no auxiliary fronting.
- Mark a question in one of two ways: add a particle (吗) at the end, or replace the unknown with a question word left in its normal slot (in situ).
- The four everyday patterns: 吗 and A-not-A for yes/no, question words for open questions, and 还是 for choices; plus 呢 for quick follow-ups.
- To form a question-word question, say the answer as a statement and swap in the question word at the same spot: 他去北京 → 他去哪儿?
- Never pile two question markers together — a question word, 还是, or A-not-A each already does the job that 吗 would.
Now practice Chinese
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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 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.
- 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.
- 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.