五个疑问词的用法 1-Minute Chinese: Question words

谁，什么时候，怎么，哪儿，什么?

Shéi, shén me shí hou, zěn me, nǎr, shén me?

Who, when, how, where, what?

These 5 basic question words are essential in Chinese. But how to use them correctly?

The trick is that in English, they usually appear at the beginning of a sentence. But in Chinese, they replace the part of a sentence we'd like to ask a question about, so the sentence becomes a question.

他下午打车去That's Mandarin上汉语课。
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè.
He goes to TM by taxi in the afternoon to have Chinese classes.

...and ask different questions about it. Pay attention to the place of the question word.

1. 谁? Who?

If you want to ask a question about a person, use the question word 谁 (shéi), "who".

For example:

谁下午打车去That's Mandarin上汉语课？
Shéi xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
Who takes the taxi to TM to have the Chinese classes in the afternoon?

2. 什么时候？When?

If you want to ask a question about time, use the question word 什么时候 (shén me shí hou), "when".

For example:

他什么时候打车去That's Mandarin上汉语课?
Tā shén me shí hou dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
When does he take a taxi to TM to have the Chinese classes?

3. 怎么? How?

If you want to ask about the way/method, use the question word 怎么 (zěn me), "how".

For example:

他下午怎么去That's Mandarin上汉语课?
Tā xià wǔ zěn me qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
How does he go to TM for his Chinese classes in the afternoon?

4. 哪儿? Where?

To ask about location, use the question word 哪儿 (nǎr), "where".

For example:

他下午打车去哪儿上汉语课?
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù nǎr shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
Where does he go by taxi to have his Chinese classes in the afternoon?

5. 什么 What?

To ask about things, use the word 什么 (shén me), "what".

For example:

他下午打车去That's Mandarin做什么?
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM zuò shén me?
What does he do at TM in the afternoon when he goes there by taxi?

Source: That's Mandarin
Editor: wanwan