Learn Asking yes or no questions with 吗 (ma) in Mandarin Chinese. Clear HSK 1 grammar explanation with examples in Chinese, pinyin, and English. Free on Dumplingo.
吗 (ma) is a question particle added to the end of a statement to turn it into a yes or no question. The basic sentence structure stays the same, you just add 吗 at the end. Examples: 1. 你是学生吗？ Nǐ shì xuésheng ma? Are you a student? 2. 他喜欢咖啡吗？ Tā xǐhuan kāfēi ma? Does he like coffee? 3. 你今天上班吗？ Nǐ jīntiān shàngbān ma? Are you working today? Notes: - 吗 is only used for yes or no questions. - The word order does not change, just add 吗 at the end. - To answer, you usually repeat the verb: 是 or 不是, 喜欢 or 不喜欢. Structure: [Statement] + 吗？ More examples: - 你有狗吗？ (Nǐ yǒu gǒu ma?) I — Do you have a dog? - 他忙吗？ (Tā máng ma?) I — Is he busy? - 我们现在走吗？ (Wǒmen xiànzài zǒu ma?) I — Shall we go now? Next grammar point: [Using 很 (hěn) for basic descriptions](/grammar/hsk1/hen_descriptions)