问 (wèn) means to ask a question — to inquire, to seek information from someone. This is the single most important thing to fix in your head, because English "ask" is a much wider word than 问. In English you "ask a question," but you also "ask a favor," "ask someone to leave," and "ask for the bill" — and only the first of those is 问. When you want someone to do something, that is 请 / 让; when you want to be given something, that is 要. 问 is purely the verb of putting a question and expecting an answer. Get that boundary right and half the errors below never happen.
Sense 1: ask, inquire (pose a question)
At its core, 问 takes the person you ask as its object: you 问老师, 问医生, 问路人. What you ask about can follow, but the person is what 问 grabs first.
不懂就问，别不好意思。
bù dǒng jiù wèn, bié bù hǎoyìsi
If you don't understand, just ask — don't be shy.
我们迷路了，去问问路吧。
wǒmen mílù le, qù wènwen lù ba
We're lost — let's go ask for directions.
有问题可以随时问我。
yǒu wèntí kěyǐ suíshí wèn wǒ
If you have questions, you can ask me anytime.
Sense 2: the double object — 问 + person + question
问 is a classic double-object verb: it can take two objects in a row — first the person, then the thing asked. The order is fixed as 问 + 人 + 事/问题, exactly like 给 (give) and 教 (teach).
我想问你一件事。
wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yí jiàn shì
I want to ask you something.
警察问了他很多问题。
jǐngchá wèn le tā hěn duō wèntí
The police asked him a lot of questions.
The second slot can also be a whole embedded question — "asked me what / where / whether…":
他问我叫什么名字。
tā wèn wǒ jiào shénme míngzi
He asked me what my name was.
Sense 3: 请问 — the polite opener "may I ask…"
Prefacing a question to a stranger with 请问 (qǐngwèn, literally "please ask") is the standard courtesy — it is how you approach someone for help or information. Skipping it can sound blunt.
请问，洗手间在哪儿？
qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr
Excuse me, where's the toilet?
请问一下，去火车站怎么走？
qǐngwèn yíxià, qù huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu
Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?
请问，您是王老师吗？
qǐngwèn, nín shì Wáng lǎoshī ma
Excuse me, are you Teacher Wang?
Sense 4: 问好 / 问候 — send regards, ask after someone
问 also covers "asking after" a person's wellbeing — passing on greetings. The set phrases are 问好 (wèn hǎo, informal "say hi to") and 问候 (wènhòu, warmer/more formal "send regards"). The person greeted is marked with 向 or 替/代.
见到你爸妈，替我问好。
jiàndào nǐ bàmā, tì wǒ wèn hǎo
When you see your parents, say hi from me.
请代我向张经理问好。
qǐng dài wǒ xiàng Zhāng jīnglǐ wèn hǎo
Please give my regards to Manager Zhang. (formal)
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 问问题 | wèn wèntí | ask a question |
| 问路 | wèn lù | ask for directions |
| 问老师 | wèn lǎoshī | ask the teacher |
| 请问 | qǐngwèn | excuse me, may I ask |
| 问好 | wèn hǎo | say hi to, send regards |
| 问候 | wènhòu | send one's regards (warmer) |
| 过问 | guòwèn | concern oneself with, look into |
| 问题 | wèntí | question; problem |
Grammar notes
问 belongs to the small set of double-object verbs (问, 给, 教, 告诉, 还…): person first, thing second. It takes 了 and 过 freely (问了, 问过). Note that 问 introduces a question; the verb that introduces a statement — "tell / say to someone" — is 告诉 or 说, covered with the other speech verbs.
The one distinction to keep sharp is against its two English-"ask" neighbours. Asking someone to do something is 请 (invite/politely request) or 让 (get/have someone do). Asking for an object is 要 (want/request). 问 does neither — it only poses questions.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 问 to mean "ask someone to do something." That is 请 or 让, never 问.
❌ 我问他帮我搬东西。
Incorrect — this isn't posing a question. 'Ask him to help' is 请他 / 让他 帮我搬东西.
✅ 我请他帮我搬东西。
wǒ qǐng tā bāng wǒ bān dōngxi
I asked him to help me move some things.
2. Using 问 to "ask for" an object. Requesting a thing needs 要 (跟/向 someone 要 something), not bare 问.
❌ 我口渴，想问服务员一杯水。
Incorrect — 问 poses a question. To ask for water, use 要: 跟服务员要一杯水.
✅ 我口渴，想跟服务员要一杯水。
wǒ kǒukě, xiǎng gēn fúwùyuán yào yì bēi shuǐ
I'm thirsty — I want to ask the waiter for a glass of water.
3. Misordering the double object. The person comes first, then the question.
❌ 我想问一件事你。
Wrong order — person before thing: 问 + 你 + 一件事.
✅ 我想问你一件事。
wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yí jiàn shì
I want to ask you something.
4. Greeting someone with bare 问好 in the wrong slot. 问好 needs the person marked with 向 (or 替/代 for the sender), not stuck straight after 问好.
❌ 请问好你的家人。
Wrong — mark the person with 向: 替我向你的家人问好.
✅ 请替我向你的家人问好。
qǐng tì wǒ xiàng nǐ de jiārén wèn hǎo
Please give my regards to your family.
Key Takeaways
- 问 = ask a question / inquire — seek information, and expect an answer.
- It is a double-object verb: 问 + person + question (问你一件事, 问老师一个问题).
- 请问 politely opens a question to strangers; 问好 / 问候 means "send regards" (mark the person with 向/替).
- English "ask" splits three ways: 问 (a question), 请/让 (ask someone to do), 要 (ask for an object) — don't let one English word collapse them.
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- 请 (qǐng) — invite / please / treatHSK 1 — 请 (qǐng) does three jobs: a 'please' marker before a verb (请坐, 请问), a pivotal verb 'invite / ask someone to do' (我请你吃饭), and 'treat / host' — where 请你吃饭 means the speaker is paying. Chinese has no sentence-final 'please'.
- 说 (shuō) — say / speak / talkHSK 1 — 说 (shuō) means say, speak, and talk — 说话 (talk), 说中文 (speak Chinese), 他说他很忙 (he says he's busy). The listener is marked with 跟/对 before 说, never as a bare object — and 说他 doesn't mean 'tell him', it means 'tell him off'.
- 教 (jiāo) — to teachHSK 2 — 教 (jiāo, first tone) means 'to teach' and takes two objects with no preposition — learner first, subject second: 教我们中文 'teach us Chinese'. Beware the tone: the noun-forming reading 教 (jiào) shows up in 教育, 教师, 宗教.