你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shén me míng zi?
What is your name?
Question Words
25 minutes
Master the essential question words in Chinese.
How to use these phrases
Question words are the key to asking anything in Chinese! "什么" means "what", "谁" means "who", "哪里" means "where", "什么时候" means "when", and "为什么" means "why". In Chinese, the question word goes in the same place as the answer. For example, if the answer is "我是学生" (I am a student), the question is "你是什么？" (What are you?). There are no special word order changes for questions in Chinese, which makes it easier than English!
Chinese vocabulary and Pinyin
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 什么 | shén me | What |
| 谁 | shuí | Who |
| 哪里 | nǎ lǐ | Where |
| 什么时候 | shén me shí hou | When |
| 为什么 | wèi shén me | Why |
| 怎么 | zěn me | How |
| 多少 | duō shǎo | How many / How much |
| 吗 | ma | Question particle |
Example sentences
他是谁？
Tā shì shuí?
Who is he?
学校在哪里？
Xué xiào zài nǎ lǐ?
Where is the school?
你为什么学习汉语？
Nǐ wèi shén me xué xí hàn yǔ?
Why do you study Chinese?
你好吗？
Nǐ hǎo ma?
How are you?
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