Question Marker '吗'

01

Basic Structure

To form a question with 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma), you do not need to change the word order of the sentence. This is different from English, where the verb often moves to the front (e.g., "You are" becomes "Are you"). In Chinese, you simply take the declarative statement and attach 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) to the end.

The structure is: Statement + 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma)?

• 你是老师。

  nǐ shì lǎo·shī.ㄋㄧˇ ㄕˋ ㄌㄠˇ·ㄕ.ni3 shih4 lao3·shih1.

  You are a teacher.

• 你是老师吗？

  nǐ shì lǎo·shī ma?ㄋㄧˇ ㄕˋ ㄌㄠˇ·ㄕ ˙ㄇㄚ?ni3 shih4 lao3·shih1 ma?

  Are you a teacher?

• 他喜欢喝咖啡。

  tā xǐ·huan hē kā·fēi.ㄊㄚ ㄒㄧˇ·˙ㄏㄨㄢ ㄏㄜ ㄎㄚ·ㄈㄟ.t'a1 shi3·huan ho1 k'a1·fei1.

  He likes to drink coffee.

• 他喜欢喝咖啡吗？

  tā xǐ·huan hē kā·fēi ma?ㄊㄚ ㄒㄧˇ·˙ㄏㄨㄢ ㄏㄜ ㄎㄚ·ㄈㄟ ˙ㄇㄚ?t'a1 shi3·huan ho1 k'a1·fei1 ma?

  Does he like to drink coffee?

02

Answering 吗 (ma) Questions

Because 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) creates Yes/No questions, the answer usually confirms or denies the verb or adjective used in the question. Chinese does not have a universal word for "Yes" or "No". Instead, you repeat the key word from the question.

To answer "Yes": Repeat the verb or adjective.

To answer "No": Use 不 (bùㄅㄨˋpu4) or 没 (méiㄇㄟˊmei2) before the verb or adjective.

• 你好吗？

  nǐ hǎo ma?ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄠˇ ˙ㄇㄚ?ni3 hao3 ma?

  Are you good? (How are you?)

• 我很好。

  wǒ hěn hǎo.ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄏㄠˇ.wo3 hên3 hao3.

  I am very good.

• 你去吗？

  nǐ qù ma?ㄋㄧˇ ㄑㄩˋ ˙ㄇㄚ?ni3 ch'ü4 ma?

  Are you going?

• 不去。

  bù qù.ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄩˋ.pu4 ch'ü4.

  No (not going).

03

When NOT to Use 吗 (ma)

You should only use 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) when the sentence is a statement that needs to be turned into a question. If the sentence already contains a specific question word, you cannot add 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma).

Do not use 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) if the sentence contains words like:

• 什么 (shén·meㄕㄣˊ·˙ㄇㄜshên2·mê) - what
• 谁 (shéiㄕㄟˊshei2) - who
• 哪儿 (nǎr) - where
• 什么时候 (shén·me shí·houㄕㄣˊ·˙ㄇㄜ ㄕˊ·˙ㄏㄡshên2·mê shih2·hou) - when

These words already make the sentence a question, so adding 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) would be redundant and grammatically incorrect.

• 这是什么？

  zhè shì shén·me?ㄓㄜˋ ㄕˋ ㄕㄣˊ·˙ㄇㄜ?chê4 shih4 shên2·mê?

  What is this?

• 他是谁？

  tā shì shéi?ㄊㄚ ㄕˋ ㄕㄟˊ?t'a1 shih4 shei2?

  Who is he?

• 你在哪儿？

  nǐ zài nǎr?ㄋㄧˇ ㄗㄞˋ nǎr?ni3 tsai4 nǎr?

  Where are you?

04

Pronunciation and Tone

The character 吗 (ma˙ㄇㄚma) carries a neutral tone. It should be pronounced lightly and shortly, without emphasizing a specific pitch contour. Even though it is a question particle, the rising intonation of the question applies to the overall sentence pitch, not just the particle itself.

• 这是你的吗？

  zhè shì nǐ de ma?ㄓㄜˋ ㄕˋ ㄋㄧˇ ˙ㄉㄜ ˙ㄇㄚ?chê4 shih4 ni3 tê ma?

  Is this yours?

• 我们可以走吗？

  wǒ·men ké·yǐ zǒu ma?ㄨㄛˇ·˙ㄇㄣ ㄎㄜˊ·ㄧˇ ㄗㄡˇ ˙ㄇㄚ?wo3·mên k'o2·yi3 tsou3 ma?

  Can we leave?