Chinese Question Words for Beginners

Chinese question words stay where the answer would appear. Think of the answer sentence first, then swap the unknown part for a question word.

Ask “这是什么？” about nearby objects, then answer with “这是……”.

Never add 吗 to a question-word sentence: say “你去哪儿？”, not “你去哪儿吗？”.

English moves question words to the front, but Mandarin leaves them where the answer would appear. In “你去哪儿？”, “哪儿” sits in the location slot — and the answer “我去机场” puts the place in the very same slot.

“这是什么？” works the same way. If the answer is “这是咖啡”, the question replaces coffee with “什么”. This answer-to-question swap is the core instinct of Mandarin questions.

Eight cover beginner needs: 谁 (who), 什么 (what), 哪儿 (where), 什么时候 (when), 为什么 (why), 怎么 (how), 哪个 (which), and 多少 (how much/many).

Do not build long sentences first. Use short lines like “这是什么？”, “你去哪儿？”, and “你怎么去？” to build instinct, then extend.

Two words ask about numbers. “几” expects a small number and must take a measure word: “几个人？” (how many people?), “几点？” (what time?). “多少” handles big or unknown numbers and can skip the measure word: “多少钱？” (how much?), “你的电话是多少？” (what's your number?).

Memorize the two most useful lines outright: “这个多少钱？” for prices and “现在几点？” for the time.

A: 你周末去哪儿？ B: 我去朋友家. A: 你怎么去？ B: 坐地铁. A: 你什么时候回来？ B: 星期天晚上. A: 为什么这么晚？ B: 因为我们要一起吃晚饭.

Listen once, then repeat line by line. Then swap in your own answers while keeping the question words — that is the “sits in the answer's slot” idea in action.

Do not memorize 谁, 什么, and 哪儿 in isolation. Use one sentence frame and swap: 你是谁？你喝什么？你去哪儿？你什么时候去？

Mandarin question words usually stay where the answer would appear; they do not move to the front like English. Once you understand this, making questions becomes much faster.

Minute one is only for the core lines: “你是谁？”、“这是什么？”、“你去哪儿？”. Do not add new vocabulary yet; first make sure you can read the characters aloud and turn the English meaning back into Mandarin.

Minutes two to four change one real variable: place, quantity, time, person, or preference. In the final minute, close the page and say the idea with your own details. PandaKiko treats this guide as learned only when you can turn “你是谁？” into your own sentence.