How to Ask Questions in Chinese - Free PDF and Flashcards

Questions are the match that lights up a real conversation. In Chinese, you don’t need to memorise a hundred grammar rules-just a pocketful of question words and a couple of simple patterns, and you’re suddenly talking to people instead of just nodding along.

We’ve rounded up roughly 30 go-to Chinese question words and sentence patterns-the everyday stuff like 什么, 谁, and 怎么, plus a few handy question endings. Each entry gives you a plain-English meaning and a realistic example sentence, so you can see exactly how the question behaves in a real conversation. Tap the play button to hear the pronunciation-your ears will thank you.

Ready to get curious in Chinese? Scroll to the bottom of the article for the free printable how to ask questions in Chinese vocabulary list PDF and the free downloadable printable how to ask questions in Chinese flashcards, so you can practice asking and answering with confidence.

Want more than one list? Browse our Chinese section for more Yak Yacker study pages, printable lists, and quiz-friendly review material.

Quick Quiz

Think you can match a Chinese question word to its English meaning without peeking? The quick quiz below is a friendly way to test your memory-focus on the ones you miss, then come back to the table.

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Browse the Full List

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	Example Pinyin	Translation
Statement + 吗 ma	Turns a statement into a yes/no question	你是老师吗？	Are you a teacher?
为什么	wèishénme	why	nǐ wèishénme chídào?	Why are you late?
为什么 wèishénme	why	他为什么不来？	Why is he not coming?
什么	shénme	what	nǐ mǎi shénme?	What are you buying?
什么 shénme	what	你喝什么？	What are you drinking?
什么时候	shénme shíhou	when	wǒmen shénme shíhou kāishǐ?	When do we start?
什么时候 shénme shíhou	when	你什么时候回家？	When are you going home?
几	jǐ	how many, small number	nǐmen bān yǒu jǐ ge lǎoshī?	How many teachers are in your class?
几 jǐ	how many	现在几点？	What time is it now?
去……不去……		你去不去北京？
吗	ma	yes or no question marker	nǐ shì xuésheng ma?	Are you a student?
哪	nǎ	which		Which one do you want?
哪儿	nǎr	where	nǐ de shǒujī zài nǎr?	Where is your phone?
哪儿 nǎr	where	洗手间在哪儿？	Where is the restroom?
哪里	nǎlǐ	where		Where are you?
多少	duōshao	how many or how much	zhè běn shū duōshao qián?	How much is this book?
多少 duōshao	how many or how much	你家有多少人？	How many people are in your family?
多远	duō yuǎn	how far		How far?
多长	duō cháng	how long		How long?
忙……不忙……		你忙不忙？
怎么	zěnme	how	nǐ zěnme huí jiā?	How are you going home?
怎么 zěnme	how	你怎么去学校？	How do you go to school?
怎么样	zěnmeyàng	how about		How about this one?
是……不是……		你是不是学生？
是不是	shì bu shì	is or is not	tā shì bu shì lǎoshī?	Is he a teacher?

Free How to Ask Questions in Chinese PDF and Flashcards

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