Beginner Lesson 9.1 – Yes or No Question with 吗

Restricted
Oops...Members Only!

Yes Or No Question In Chinese With 吗 | Siblings In Chinese

Learn how to ask a yes or no question in Chinese and how to say all the siblings in Chinese.

  • Yes or no question in Chinese with Question Particle 吗 (I). See also Yes or No Question (II) and (III).
  • Siblings in Chinese: 哥哥 姐姐 弟弟 妹妹
  • Two-syllable words in Chinese

VOCABULARY


GRAMMAR


Grammar 1: Yes or No Question in Chinese with ma Question Particle 吗 · HSK 1

ma 吗 yes or no question particle

吗 is the yes or no question particle in Chinese. We put 吗 at the end of a statement sentence to turn it into a yes or no question:

S V O Q.P.
1

he
shì

is
nǐ gēge
你哥哥
your big brother
 


he
shì

is
nǐ gēge
你哥哥
your big brother
ma

(yes or no)
2

you
rènshi
认识
know
Lǐ Lǎoshī
李老师
Teacher Li
 


you
rènshi
认识
know
Lǐ Lǎoshī
李老师
Teacher Li
ma

(yes or no)

In Lesson 20.1 we will learn how to answer a yes or no question in Chinese.

 

Grammar 2: 2-syllable Characters in Chinese · HSK 1

The majority of Chinese words are created by two characters. We call them Shuāng Yīnjié Cí 双音节词 Two-syllable Words. People are so used to them that they tend to create and speak with more Two-syllable words. This is why we say parents and siblings in Chinese with words like 爸爸, 妈妈, 哥哥, 姐姐, 弟弟, 妹妹 when single characters 爸, 妈, 哥, 姐, 弟, 妹 already carry the efficient meaning of each family member.

12 Comments
Collapse Comments
silvigarciaPremium Student July 24, 2023 at 2:09 pm

why we can not ask as ” NIDE” 你的 to all questions? why is only “ni3)?

SM7Premium Student August 24, 2023 at 7:06 pm

Because if its a close relative you omit the “de”, although technically if you have the “de” even with close relatives it is still correct, but less used per what was said in the lesson

Chineseman773Premium Student March 7, 2022 at 9:19 pm

Thank you for the lesson.

Am Zambian and I am enjoying the lessons. Do u have any free lessons like the whole package?

liwei7vPremium Student June 19, 2020 at 5:38 pm

i searched it too but i could find. And become premium

Yossarian93Premium Student December 3, 2019 at 8:55 pm

At 6:18 the question did not use “de” but at 8:44 the same question uses “de”, I am confused.

Please refer to Grammar 3 of Lesson 8.1 Omission of Possessive Particle 的 

freechinesednesPremium Student August 28, 2019 at 10:19 am

You are a great teacher.

david.rappoPremium Student August 17, 2019 at 10:06 pm

I have a question about 姐姐. This is two third-tone syllables in a row. Usually in a such a situation the first syllable is pronounced in the second tone. However, according to the lesson notes the second syllable is pronounced in neutral (no tone). So would the first syllable be pronounced in full third tone or “half” third tone? Thanks

ApplePieGiraffePremium Student July 15, 2019 at 12:45 am

What tone should you pronounce the particle word “ma” in? It sounds closest to the first tone, but I’d appreciate some clarification.

ashrfulalam30001Guest September 3, 2017 at 9:36 pm

Your teaching approch is very decent & effective .I ‘m just enjoying your lesson.I ‘m new comer in china & chiesse language aso.

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the lessons. Hope you have a great time in China!

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top