Interrogative Pronouns
Chinese Interrogative Words Part I
In this Interrogative Words series, you'll learn words and phrases that help you form questions in Chinese. If you are currently learning the HSK1 or HSK2 syllabus with us, this is the perfect article for you to read. Let's start with interrogative pronouns (疑问代词, yí wèn dài cí) in the first part of the series.
几(jǐ)
This is the interrogative pronoun to use when you want to ask for the quantity of something, especially when the quantity is less than 10. A measure word often follows "几" to form a complete question. Let's look at some sample sentences below:
现在几点了？(xiàn zài jǐ diǎn le? What's the time now?)
The Chinese character "点(diǎn)" has various meanings, but in this context, it is used as a measure word for time.
今天几号？(jīn tiān jǐ hào? What's today's date?)
"号(hào)" is a measure word that refers to the date in this context.
你几岁了？(nǐ jǐ suì le? How old are you?)
"岁" is used as a measure word that indicates how old one is. Since "几" is used to ask for a number below 10, "几岁" is usually used to ask for the age of children below 10-year-old. To ask for the age of teenagers and adults, check the next section on the interrogative pronoun "多".
多(duō)
When you want to ask for the degree or extent of something, you'll need to use "多" as the interrogative pronoun. In contrast to "几", "多" can be used to ask for a number bigger than 10. Usually, "多" is placed before an adjective. Let's look at some sample sentences below:
你多大了？(nǐ duō dà le? How old are you?)
"大(dà)" in Chinese can mean big, but it can also refer to age, especially when you are asking the age of teenagers and adults.
你多高？(nǐ duō gāo? How tall are you?)
"高(gāo)" is an adjective that is equivalent to "tall" or "high" in English. If you want to find out the height of someone, use "多高" in this question. The opposite of "高(tall)" is "矮(ǎi, short)".
多少(duō shǎo)
"多少" is used when you want to find out a specific quantity of something. Unlike "几" which covers a quantity below 10, it can cover any number when used in a question. Also, it does not require a measure word to form a question. The measure word is optional. Let's look at some sample sentences below:
冰箱里有多少(个)苹果？(bīng xiāng li yǒu duō shǎo gè píng guǒ? How many apples are there in the refrigerator?)
In this example, the measure word for "苹果(píng guǒ, apple)" is "个(gè, common measure word)", but its use is optional. It is fine if you say "冰箱里有多少苹果？".
这支笔多少钱？(zhè zhī bǐ duō shǎo qián? How much is this pen?)
"多少钱" is a useful colloquial phrase to find out the price of an item.
你家的电话号码是多少？(nǐ jiā de diàn huà hào mǎ shì duō shǎo? What is your telephone number?)
"多少" is not just used to ask about quantity, it can also be used to ask for a string of numbers, such as telephone or mobile number, password, etc.
怎么(zěn me)
This interrogative pronoun functions like "how" in English. It is combined with a verb to ask about the way or the manner to do something. Let's look at some sample sentences below:
这个游戏怎么玩？ (zhè ge yóu xì zěn me wán? How to play this game?)
这套工具怎么用？ (zhè tào gōng jù zěn me yòng? How to use this set of tools?)
"怎么" can also function like "why" in English when you ask about the reason why something happened. It adds a tone of surprise as well. The sentence structure is usually "怎么 + (不/没/没有/那么/这么) + verb/adjective". Let's look at some sample sentences below:
你怎么不开心？(nǐ zěn me bù kāi xīn? Why are you unhappy?)
你怎么没去上班？(nǐ zěn me méi qù shàng bān? Why you did not go to work?)
怎么样(zěn me yàng)
When we want to ask about the condition of someone or something, we use the phrase "怎么样(zěn me yàng)". Let's look at some sample sentences below:
那家餐厅的食物怎么样？(nà jiā cāntīng de shíwù zěnme yàng? How's the food in that restaurant?)
你那边的天气怎么样？(nǐ nà biān de tiān qì zěn me yàng? How's the weather at your place?)
The phrase "怎么样" is usually placed at the back when used in a sentence.
哪儿(nǎ er) or 哪里 (nǎ lǐ)
Both 哪儿(nǎ er) or 哪里 (nǎ lǐ) are interrogative pronouns which mean "where" in English. It is used to ask about the location of an item or a person. Let's look at some sample sentences below:
你来自哪里？(nǐ lái zì nǎ lǐ? Where do you come from?)
你的办公室在哪儿？(nǐ de bàn gōng shì zài nǎ er? Where is your office?)
为什么(wèi shén me)
This interrogative pronoun is directly translated to “why” in English. It is used to enquire about the reason or the motive why something happened. Let’s look at some sample sentences below:
你为什么迟到？(nǐ wèi shé me chí dào? Why are you late?)
为什么他没来参加活动？(wèi shé me tā méi lái cān jiā huó dòng? Why did he not come to the event?)
In this post, you've learned a number of common interrogative pronouns used to form questions in Chinese. If you are currently learning the HSK syllabus, read, like, and share this article to recap and reinforce your learning! If you want to learn more about Chinese grammar and vocabulary, sign up for our Chinese classes and have fun learning Chinese. Stay tuned to our Interrogative Words series to learn more on this topic, see you!