Statement + 吗 (ma) ?
Mandarin Chinese Articles
How to use modal particles: 吗 (ma) in Mandarin Chinese?
By: Lina Shen Thu Jan 04 2024
Particles in Mandarin are words that are added to another word, phrase, or sentence to indicate different supplementary meanings, grammatical relations, or moods. Particles do a lot of work in Chinese sentences. In this post, we’re going to take a look at a particle that turns a statement into a question. Let’s take a look at this highly functional word: 吗 (ma)!
Table of Contents
What is the particle 吗 (ma) in Mandarin?
吗 (ma) is a particle that is added to a statement (most often at the very end) to turn it into a yes/no question. It is also used to form tag questions and in simple rhetorical questions. Let’s see all this in detail!
How to use 吗 (ma) to form yes/no questions in Mandarin?
Any statement can be easily converted into a yes/no question with 吗 (ma) added in the very end of the statement:
Tip
What is a yes/no question?
Yes/no questions are questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no.” Consider the difference between these two questions:
Do you like sandwiches?
What is your favorite kind of sandwich?
Question one is a yes/no question. Question two is an open question. In English, open questions are also often called “wh-” questions since these questions typically begin with “what,” “who,” “when,” “where,” “why,” and “how.”
Statement | Yes/no question with 吗 (ma) |
|---|---|
你喜欢喝茶。 (Nǐ xǐhuān hē chá.) You like to drink tea. | 你喜欢喝茶吗？ (Nǐ xǐhuan hē chá ma?) Do you like to drink tea? |
你会说汉语。 (Nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ.) You can speak Chinese. | 你会说汉语吗？ (Nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ ma?) Can you speak Chinese? |
他来参加舞会。 (Tā bùlái cānjiā wǔhuì.) He isn’t coming to the dance. | 他来参加舞会吗？ (Tā bùlái cānjiā wǔhuì ma?) Is he coming to the dance? |
你上完课了。 (Nǐ shàng wán kè le.) You finished your class. | 你上完课了吗？ (Nǐ shàng wán kè le ma?) Did you finish your class? |
他找到新工作了。 (Tā zhǎodào xīn gōngzuò le.) He has found a new job. | 他找到新工作了吗？ (Tā zhǎodào xīn gōngzuò le ma?) Has he found a new job yet? |
你妹妹写完作业了。 (Nǐ mèimei xiě wán zuòyè le.) Your younger sister has finished her homework. | 你妹妹写完作业了吗？ (Nǐ mèimei xiě wán zuòyè le ma?) Has your younger sister finished doing her homework? |
Important
吗 (ma) is almost always used to form yes/no questions. It is not used in open questions, the so-called “wh- questions.” Questions asking who, where, when, how, why, etc. are asked using those words, just as in English: 谁 (shuí, who), 哪儿 (nǎr, where), 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu, when), 什么 (shénme, what), 哪一个 (nǎ yíge, which), 为什么 (wèi shénme, why), 怎么(样) (zěnme (yàng), how/how about), and the verb + 不 (bù) + verb pattern. For example:
O 你是谁？ (Tā shì shuí?) Who are you? | X 你是谁吗? (Tā shì shuí ma? ) |
O 你去哪儿? (Nǐ qù nǎr?) Where are you going? | X 你去哪儿吗？ (Nǐ qù nǎr ma?) |
O 他是不是老师？ (Tā shì bú shì lǎoshī? ) Isn’t he a teacher? | X 他是不是老师吗？ (Tā shì bú shì lǎoshī ma?) |
How to use 吗 (ma) to form tag questions in Mandarin?
In Mandarin Chinese, it’s very common to ask a question by stating it as an affirmative statement and then adding a tag questions to the end: 你下午一点来，好吗? (nǐ xiàwǔ yì diǎn lái, hǎo ma, Come over at one in the afternoon, alright?)
Tag questions are tagged, or tacked on, to the end of a sentence to ask for confirmation and to make suggestions in a polite or friendly way, just as how in English we add words like “alright” and “isn’t it?” or “right?”
The pattern typically involves words like 可以 (kěyǐ, shall/may/can), 好 (hǎo, okay), 对 (dui, correct), 是 (shì, be (is/was)), followed by 吗 (ma).
SentenceNo definition set for SentenceLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. , + 可以 (kěyǐ, shall/may/can) / 好 (hǎo, okay, alright) / 对 (dui, correct, right) / 是 (shì, be) + 吗 (ma).
我们明天去图书馆，可以吗？
(Wǒmen míngtiān qù túshūguǎn, kěyǐ ma?)
Let's go to the library tomorrow, shall we?
今天晚上吃日本菜，好吗？
(Jīntiān wǎnshang chī rìběn cài, hǎo ma?)
Let’s have Japanese food tonight, alright?
这个汉字这样写，对吗？
(Zhège hànzì zhèyàng xiě, duì ma?)
This (Chinese) character is written like this, right?
这个书包是你的，不是吗？
(Zhège shūbāo shì nǐ de, búshì ma?)
This is your backpack, isn’t it?
How to use 吗 (ma) to form simple rhetorical questions in Mandarin?
In Mandarin, as in English, sometimes we ask a question to make a point. “Aren’t you done yet?” is a form of rhetorical question. You might be accusatory, or you might be offering a helpful suggestion but, in any case, you don’t really expect an answer to the question asked. In Mandarin, 吗 (ma) is used to form rhetorical questions, like so:
subject + 不是 (búshì)……吗 (ma)?
你的字典不是在桌子上吗？
(Nǐ de zìdiǎn búshì zài zhuōzi shàng ma?)
Isn’t your dictionary on the table?
他不是已经把衣服洗了吗？
(Tā búshì yǐjīng bǎ yīfu xǐ le ma?)
Hasn’t he already washed the clothes?
When you want to make a point using “How could something/somebody be/do…?,” we use the following pattern:
statement, + 能 (néng)……吗 (ma)?
他穿得那么少，能不冷吗？
(Tā chuān de nàme shǎo, néng bù lěng ma?)
He wears so little, how could he not be cold?
林老师工作太忙了，他能来聚餐吗？
(Lín lǎoshī gōngzuò tà máng le, tā néng lái jùcān ma?)
Teacher Lin is so busy with work. How could he come to the dinner party?
这个比萨饼放在外面一个星期了，能不坏吗？
(Zhège bǐsàbǐng fàng zài wàimiàn yíge xīngqī le, néng bú huài ma?)
This pizza has been out for a week, how could it not have gone bad?
To sum up
吗 (ma) is one of the most highly functional words. We use 吗 (ma) at the end of a statement to form questions:
Modal particle 吗 (ma) | |
|---|---|
Use of 吗 (ma) | Example with 吗 (ma) |
To form a yes/no question | 你喜欢喝咖啡吗？ (Nǐ xǐhuan hē kāfēi ma?) Do you want to have coffee? |
To form a tag question | 今天是星期二，对吗？ (Jīntiān shì xīngqī èr, duì ma?) It's Tuesday today, isn't it? |
To form a simple rhetorical question | 你不好好学习，考试能考好吗？ (Nǐ bù hǎohao xuéxí, kǎoshì néng kǎo hǎo ma?) You don't study hard, how could you get a good score on the test? |
Check out our activities for more practice with 吗 (ma) in Mandarin! 你准备好了吗？ (nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo le ma, Are you ready?) Let’s try it! And if you are curious to learn about other modal particles in Mandarin, make sure to check our post on 吧 (ba), 呢 (ne), and 啊 (a).
Downloadable Resources
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How do you use modal particles: 吗 (ma)~Activities
