Chinese Question Words (什么, 谁, 哪, 几)

Level: HSK 1. Chinese asks “what”, “who” and “where” in a way that is easier than English: you keep the normal word order and simply put the question word where the answer belongs. Nothing moves to the front.

The rule

A question word — such as 什么 (shénme), meaning “what” — is a word that stands for the information you are missing. In English you move it to the front — “What do you want?” In Chinese you leave it in place: it sits exactly where the answer will later sit. This is called an in-situ (“in position”) question.

Compare the question and its answer — the order is identical, only the question word is swapped for the real information:

• 你喝什么？(nǐ hē shénme?) — “You drink what?” → 我喝茶。(wǒ hē chá.) — “I drink tea.”

Because the question word already signals a question, you do not add the yes/no particle 吗 (ma). 吗 (ma) is only for questions that expect “yes” or “no”, and a question word is asking for specific information instead.

The common question words

几 (jǐ) or 多少 (duōshao)?

Both ask about quantity, but they are not interchangeable:

• 几 (jǐ) expects a small number (roughly under ten) and is followed by a measure word: 几个人？(jǐ ge rén?) — “how many people?”
• 多少 (duōshao) works for any amount, large or small, and usually needs no measure word: 多少钱？(duōshao qián?) — “how much money?”

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ 你喝什么吗？(nǐ hē shénme ma?) → ✅ 你喝什么？ (nǐ hē shénme?). Never add 吗 (ma) to a question that already has a question word.
• ❌ 什么你喝？(shénme nǐ hē?) → ✅ 你喝什么？ (nǐ hē shénme?). Do not move the question word to the front; keep normal word order.
• ❌ 几钱？(jǐ qián?) → ✅ 多少钱？ (duōshao qián?). For money (any amount) use 多少 (duōshao), not 几 (jǐ).
• ❌ 几人？(jǐ rén?) → ✅ 几个人？ (jǐ ge rén?). 几 (jǐ) needs a measure word such as 个 (ge).
• ❌ 你是什么？(nǐ shì shénme?) for “who are you?” → ✅ 你是谁？ (nǐ shì shéi?). Use 谁 (shéi) for people, 什么 (shénme) for things.

A short conversation

A: 你叫什么名字？(nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?) — What is your name? B: 我叫李明。你是谁？(wǒ jiào Lǐ Míng. nǐ shì shéi?) — I am Li Ming. Who are you? A: 我是新同学。洗手间在哪儿？(wǒ shì xīn tóngxué. xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?) — I am a new classmate. Where is the toilet? B: 在那儿。(zài nàr.) — Over there.

Usage notes

• 谁 (shéi) has two readings. In everyday speech it is shéi; in careful or formal reading it is shuí. The meaning is the same.
• 哪 (nǎ) almost always needs a measure word, most often 个 (ge): 哪个 (nǎge, which one), 哪本书 (nǎ běn shū, which book).
• 怎么 (zěnme) covers both “how” and “why”. 怎么去 (zěnme qù) is “how to go”; 怎么了 (zěnme le) is “what’s wrong?”.
• Answers keep the same order. Because the question is in-situ, you can answer by putting the information straight into the question word’s slot — a handy way to check your sentence is correct.

Compared with…

• Yes/no questions with 吗 (ma): when you expect a simple “yes” or “no”, add 吗 (ma) to a statement and use no question word. See Yes/No Questions with 吗 (ma). The two systems never mix in one sentence.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Compare with Yes/No Questions with 吗 (ma)
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