[Learn beginner Chinese with grammar] How to Ask : Chinese Question Words

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What are Chinese question words?

Chinese question words are words like “what,” “why,” “how,” “who,” “where,” “which,” and “how many.”

In Chinese, a question word usually stays in the same position as the answer. This is different from English, where the question word often moves to the beginning of the sentence.

For beginners, remember this important idea:

• Chinese question word = replace the unknown information.
• You usually do not need to move the question word to the front.

For example:

Answer sentence	Question sentence
我要吃飯。 ♬ wǒ yào chī fàn I want to eat rice / a meal.	你要吃什麼？ ♬ nǐ yào chī shénme What do you want to eat?

「飯」is replaced by「什麼」because the speaker wants to ask about the unknown thing.

1. Common Chinese question words

Chinese	Pinyin	English
什麼 ♬	shénme	what
為什麼 ♬	wèishénme	why
怎麼 ♬	zěnme	how; why, depending on context
如何 ♬	rúhé	how; in what way
誰 ♬	shéi	who
哪裡 ♬	nǎlǐ	where
哪 ♬	nǎ	which
幾 ♬	jǐ	how many, usually for small numbers
多少 ♬	duōshǎo	how many; how much
多 ♬	duō	how, before adjectives

2. 什麼 shénme: what

「什麼」means “what.” It can ask about a thing, food, object, idea, or action.

Pattern	Meaning
Subject + Verb + 什麼？	What does someone verb?
這 / 那 + 是 + 什麼？	What is this / that?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你要吃什麼？ ♬	nǐ yào chī shénme	What do you want to eat?
你要吃什麼午餐？ ♬	nǐ yào chī shénme wǔcān	What do you want to eat for lunch?
這是什麼？ ♬	zhè shì shénme	What is this?
這是什麼東西？ ♬	zhè shì shénme dōngxi	What is this thing?
吃什麼？ ♬	chī shénme	What should we eat? / What are you eating?

「吃什麼？」is short and common in conversation. The exact meaning depends on context.

3. 為什麼 wèishénme: why

「為什麼」means “why.” It asks for the reason.

Pattern	Meaning
Subject + 為什麼 + Verb / Description？	Why does the subject do something?
為什麼 + Subject + Verb / Description？	Why does the subject do something?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你為什麼去教室？ ♬	nǐ wèishénme qù jiàoshì	Why did you go to the classroom?
為什麼你去教室？ ♬	wèishénme nǐ qù jiàoshì	Why did you go to the classroom?
你為什麼不想去？ ♬	nǐ wèishénme bù xiǎng qù	Why do you not want to go?

Both「你為什麼……？」and「為什麼你……？」are possible. The first one is very common and natural in daily speech.

4. 怎麼 zěnme: how

「怎麼」often means “how.” It asks about the method, way, or process.

Pattern	Meaning
Subject + 怎麼 + Verb？	How does someone do something?
要 + 怎麼 + Verb？	How should someone do something?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你怎麼知道？ ♬	nǐ zěnme zhīdào	How do you know?
怎麼學中文？ ♬	zěnme xué Zhōngwén	How do you learn Chinese?
要怎麼學中文？ ♬	yào zěnme xué Zhōngwén	How should I learn Chinese?
你要怎麼得到？ ♬	nǐ yào zěnme dédào	How are you going to get it?

「要怎麼……？」often feels like “How should I / you…?” or “What is the way to…?”

5. 怎麼 zěnme: why / how come

「怎麼」can also mean “why” or “how come” when the speaker is surprised or confused.

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你怎麼去教室？ ♬	nǐ zěnme qù jiàoshì	How do you go to the classroom? / Why did you go to the classroom?
你怎麼在這裡？ ♬	nǐ zěnme zài zhèlǐ	How come you are here?
你怎麼哭了？ ♬	nǐ zěnme kū le	Why are you crying? / How come you are crying?

The meaning of「怎麼」depends on context. If it asks about a method, it means “how.” If it shows surprise, it often means “why” or “how come.”

6. 如何 rúhé: how / in what way

「如何」also means “how,” but it is more formal than「怎麼」. It often appears in titles, writing, formal questions, or teaching materials.

Pattern	Meaning
如何 + Verb + Object？	How to do something?
Subject + 是 + 如何 + Verb + 的？	How did the subject do something?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
如何學中文？ ♬	rúhé xué Zhōngwén	How to learn Chinese?
你是如何學中文的？ ♬	nǐ shì rúhé xué Zhōngwén de	How did you learn Chinese?
如何解決這個問題？ ♬	rúhé jiějué zhège wèntí	How do we solve this problem?

In daily speech,「怎麼」is usually more common. In writing or formal speech,「如何」is useful.

7. 怎麼回事 zěnme huíshì: what happened?

「怎麼回事」is a very common phrase. It means “What happened?” or “What is going on?”

Chinese	Pinyin	English
怎麼回事？ ♬	zěnme huíshì	What happened? / What is going on?
這是怎麼回事？ ♬	zhè shì zěnme huíshì	What is going on with this?

「這是怎麼回事？」is often used when the speaker sees a strange situation and wants an explanation.

8. 誰 shéi: who

「誰」means “who.” It can replace the person in the sentence.

Pattern	Meaning
誰 + Verb / Description？	Who does something?
Subject + Verb + 誰？	Who does the subject verb?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
誰在那裡？ ♬	shéi zài nàlǐ	Who is there?
誰可以幫我？ ♬	shéi kěyǐ bāng wǒ	Who can help me?
你喜歡誰？ ♬	nǐ xǐhuān shéi	Who do you like?

「誰」is also often pronounced「shuí」in dictionaries or formal reading, but「shéi」is very common in daily speech.

9. 哪裡 nǎlǐ: where

「哪裡」means “where.” It replaces the place in a sentence.

Pattern	Meaning
Subject + 在 + 哪裡？	Where is the subject?
Subject + 可以 + 在哪裡 + Verb？	Where can the subject do something?
哪裡 + 可以 + Verb？	Where can someone do something?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你在哪裡？ ♬	nǐ zài nǎlǐ	Where are you?
我可以在哪裡休息？ ♬	wǒ kěyǐ zài nǎlǐ xiūxí	Where can I rest?
哪裡可以休息？ ♬	nǎlǐ kěyǐ xiūxí	Where can I rest? / Where is a place to rest?

In Chinese, a place can sometimes be the topic or subject of a sentence, so「哪裡可以休息？」is natural.

10. 哪 nǎ: which

「哪」means “which.” It is usually followed by a measure word and a noun.

Pattern	Meaning
哪 + Measure word + Noun？	Which noun?
哪 + 一 + Measure word？	Which one?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你喜歡哪一個女生？ ♬	nǐ xǐhuān nǎ yí ge nǚshēng	Which girl do you like?
哪一個？ ♬	nǎ yí ge	Which one?
哪個？ ♬	nǎ ge	Which one?
你要哪杯咖啡？ ♬	nǐ yào nǎ bēi kāfēi	Which cup of coffee do you want?

In daily speech,「哪一個」is often shortened to「哪個」.

11. 幾 jǐ: how many, usually small numbers

「幾」means “how many.” It is usually used when the expected number is small, often under ten, or when asking about time, age, or countable things.

Pattern	Meaning
幾 + Measure word + Noun？	How many nouns?
幾點？	What time?
幾歲？	How old?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你有幾個朋友？ ♬	nǐ yǒu jǐ ge péngyǒu	How many friends do you have?
現在幾點？ ♬	xiànzài jǐ diǎn	What time is it now?
你幾歲？ ♬	nǐ jǐ suì	How old are you?

「你幾歲？」is usually used for children or younger people. For adults,「你多大？」or a more polite expression may be better depending on the situation.

12. 多少 duōshǎo: how many / how much

「多少」means “how many” or “how much.” It is useful when the number may be large or unknown.

Pattern	Meaning
多少 + Noun？	How many / how much noun?
多少錢？	How much money?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
這個多少錢？ ♬	zhège duōshǎo qián	How much is this?
你有多少朋友？ ♬	nǐ yǒu duōshǎo péngyǒu	How many friends do you have?
你要多少水？ ♬	nǐ yào duōshǎo shuǐ	How much water do you want?

With「多少」, the measure word is often optional. For beginners, remember「多少錢？」as one very useful phrase.

13. 幾 vs 多少

Both「幾」and「多少」can ask “how many,” but they feel different.

Word	Use	Example
幾 ♬	usually small or expected numbers; often needs a measure word	幾個人？ ♬
多少 ♬	unknown amount; can be small or large; measure word often optional	多少人？ ♬

「幾個人？」often sounds like you expect a small number.「多少人？」is more open and can be used for a small or large number.

14. 多 + adjective: how adjective?

Use「多」before an adjective to ask about degree, size, distance, age, height, or length.

Pattern	Meaning
多 + Adjective？	How adjective?

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你多大？ ♬	nǐ duō dà	How old are you?
這裡多遠？ ♬	zhèlǐ duō yuǎn	How far is this place?
他多高？ ♬	tā duō gāo	How tall is he?
要多久？ ♬	yào duō jiǔ	How long will it take?

Be careful:「多」alone does not mean “how much” in every sentence. It usually needs an adjective after it, such as「大」、「遠」、「高」or「久」.

15. Advanced: 哪裡會 / 怎麼會 as rhetorical questions

「哪裡會」and「怎麼會」can be real questions in some contexts, but very often they are rhetorical questions. That means the speaker is not really asking for information. The speaker is expressing surprise, denial, or disbelief.

Phrase	Meaning	Feeling
哪裡會 ♬	How could...?	denial or disbelief
怎麼會 ♬	How could...? / How come...?	surprise, denial, or disbelief

Chinese	Pinyin	Natural English
我哪裡會知道？ ♬	wǒ nǎlǐ huì zhīdào	How would I know? / I would not know.
我哪裡會游泳？ ♬	wǒ nǎlǐ huì yóuyǒng	How would I know how to swim? / I cannot swim.
我怎麼會知道？ ♬	wǒ zěnme huì zhīdào	How would I know? / How could I know?

For beginners, learn these as fixed expressions first. They are not the same as normal「哪裡」or normal「怎麼」questions.

16. Advanced: 哪裡可以 / 哪裡能

「哪裡可以」and「哪裡能」can sometimes mean “How can...?” in a rhetorical way. In this use,「哪裡」does not literally mean “where.”

Chinese	Pinyin	Natural English
我哪裡可以休息？ ♬	wǒ nǎlǐ kěyǐ xiūxí	How can I rest? / I cannot rest.
我哪裡能去玩？ ♬	wǒ nǎlǐ néng qù wán	How can I go out and have fun? / I cannot go out and have fun.

This use is more advanced because the literal meaning and the real meaning are different. Beginner learners can recognize it first, but do not need to use it right away.

17. Common mistake: do not translate English word order directly

In English, the question word often goes to the beginning. In Chinese, the question word usually stays where the answer would be.

English idea	Natural Chinese	Why
What do you want to eat?	你要吃什麼？ ♬	什麼 stays after 吃.
Where are you?	你在哪裡？ ♬	哪裡 stays after 在.
Who do you like?	你喜歡誰？ ♬	誰 stays after 喜歡.

Quick review

Question word	Meaning	Example
什麼	what	你要吃什麼？ ♬
為什麼	why	你為什麼不想去？ ♬
怎麼	how / why	你怎麼知道？ ♬
如何	how, more formal	如何學中文？ ♬
誰	who	誰可以幫我？ ♬
哪裡	where	你在哪裡？ ♬
哪	which	你要哪杯咖啡？ ♬
幾	how many, usually small number	你有幾個朋友？ ♬
多少	how many / how much	這個多少錢？ ♬
多 + adjective	how adjective	他多高？ ♬
怎麼回事	what happened	這是怎麼回事？ ♬
怎麼會 / 哪裡會	rhetorical “how could...?”	我怎麼會知道？ ♬

Useful vocabulary

Chinese	Pinyin	English
疑問詞 ♬	yíwèncí	question word
問題 ♬	wèntí	question; problem
什麼 ♬	shénme	what
為什麼 ♬	wèishénme	why
怎麼 ♬	zěnme	how; why
如何 ♬	rúhé	how; in what way
誰 ♬	shéi	who
哪裡 ♬	nǎlǐ	where
哪 ♬	nǎ	which
幾 ♬	jǐ	how many
多少 ♬	duōshǎo	how many; how much
多 ♬	duō	how, before adjectives
東西 ♬	dōngxi	thing; stuff
午餐 ♬	wǔcān	lunch
教室 ♬	jiàoshì	classroom
知道 ♬	zhīdào	to know
學中文 ♬	xué Zhōngwén	to learn Chinese
得到 ♬	dédào	to get; to obtain
怎麼回事 ♬	zěnme huíshì	what happened; what is going on
幫我 ♬	bāng wǒ	help me
休息 ♬	xiūxí	to rest
女生 ♬	nǚshēng	girl; female student
朋友 ♬	péngyǒu	friend
多少錢 ♬	duōshǎo qián	how much money; how much is it
多大 ♬	duō dà	how old; how big
多遠 ♬	duō yuǎn	how far
多高 ♬	duō gāo	how tall; how high
多久 ♬	duō jiǔ	how long
哪裡會 ♬	nǎlǐ huì	how could, rhetorical
怎麼會 ♬	zěnme huì	how could; how come