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01
Use 吗 to ask “yes or no”
Start with a normal statement. Add 吗 (ma) at the end to turn it into a question that can be answered yes or no. Keep the words in the same order!
STATEMENT
你喝茶
nǐ hē chá
ADD 吗
吗
ma · neutral tone
QUESTION
你喝茶吗？
nǐ hē chá ma?
Statement + 吗 + ？
Statement · tells
你喜欢咖啡。
Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi.
You like coffee.
Question · asks
你喜欢咖啡吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma?
Do you like coffee?
Sherry's tip 💡 吗 is pronounced ma with a neutral tone. Unlike English, Chinese does not need to move the verb to the front to make this kind of question.
02
Questions you can use every day
Read these aloud and notice how 吗 simply comes at the end.
Meeting someone
你是学生吗？
Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?
Are you a student?
Food & drink
你喜欢喝茶吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan hē chá ma?
Do you like drinking tea?
Everyday life
你今天忙吗？
Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?
Are you busy today?
Language learning
你会说中文吗？
Nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
Can you speak Chinese?
How to answer a 吗 question
✓ Yes — repeat the key word
你忙吗？→ 忙。
Nǐ máng ma? → Máng.
Are you busy? → Yes, I am.
In Chinese, you often answer by repeating the verb or adjective rather than using one universal word for “yes”.
✗ No — say 不 + the key word
你忙吗？→ 不忙。
Nǐ máng ma? → Bù máng.
Are you busy? → No, I'm not.
For this example, 不 + 忙 expresses the negative answer.
03
Use 呢 to keep the conversation going
呢 (ne) is different from 吗. It often means “What about...?” when the topic is already clear from the conversation.
Natural short conversation
A：我很好。你呢？
A: Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne?
A: I'm doing well. And you?
B：我也很好。
B: Wǒ yě hěn hǎo.
B: I'm doing well, too.
Returning a question
我喜欢茶。你呢？
Wǒ xǐhuan chá. Nǐ ne?
I like tea. What about you?
Asking where something is
我的手机呢？
Wǒ de shǒujī ne?
Where's my phone?
Sherry's tip 💡 呢 (ne) also has a neutral tone. 你呢？ means “And you?” only when the earlier conversation makes the missing question clear. With 我的手机呢？, the speaker is asking about the phone's whereabouts.
We'll learn other uses of 呢, including ongoing-action patterns, in later lessons. Today we're focusing on beginner questions.
04
吗 or 呢? See the difference
✗ Not natural
吗你喜欢茶？
Ma nǐ xǐhuan chá?
Don't put 吗 at the beginning.
✓ Natural
你喜欢茶吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan chá ma?
Do you like tea?
✗ Different meaning
你呢？
Nǐ ne?
“What about you?” — needs context.
✓ Ask a complete yes/no question
你喜欢茶吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan chá ma?
Do you like tea?
Remember:吗 asks a yes/no question about a whole statement. 呢 usually points back to a known topic or asks about someone's/something's situation. They are not interchangeable.
05
Quick quiz · 6 questions
Choose the best answer. You'll get instant feedback and a short explanation.
Question 1 of 6Score: 0 / 0
Nice work!
06
Build a Chinese question
Tap the words in the correct order. Tap a word in your answer to move it back. This works on phones too!
Sentence 1 of 4
Build: Are you a student?
Your sentence
Tap these words
07
Let's practise speaking!
Ask these questions out loud. Then answer them or ask a friend. You can reuse the patterns in your next lesson with Sherry.
Ask someone if they like coffee. (Use 吗.)
Ask whether someone is busy today. (Use 吗.)
Tell a friend you like tea. Ask what about them. (Use 呢.)
