Yes/No Questions with 吗 (ma)

Level: beginner (HSK 1). The easiest question in Mandarin: take any statement and add 吗 (ma) at the end. Nothing else moves. 你是学生 (nǐ shì xuéshēng, “you are a student”) becomes 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?, “are you a student?”).

The rule

A yes/no question is one that can be answered “yes” or “no”. In Mandarin you make one by putting the question particle 吗 (ma) — a short word with no meaning of its own — at the very end of a statement:

• 你是学生。 (Nǐ shì xuéshēng.) — You are a student. → 你是学生吗？ (Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?) — Are you a student?
• 你喜欢咖啡。 (Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi.) — You like coffee. → 你喜欢咖啡吗？ (Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma?) — Do you like coffee?

The word order does not change — unlike English, you do not move the verb or add a word like “do”. 吗 (ma) is said in the neutral (light) tone, so it is never written with a tone mark.

Forms at a glance

Example sentences

1. 你好吗？
   Nǐ hǎo ma?
   How are you? (Are you well?)
2. 你是学生吗？
   Nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?
   Are you a student?
3. 他是老师吗？
   Tā shì lǎoshī ma?
   Is he a teacher?
4. 你喜欢咖啡吗？
   Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma?
   Do you like coffee?
5. 你忙吗？
   Nǐ máng ma?
   Are you busy?
6. 这是你的书吗？
   Zhè shì nǐ de shū ma?
   Is this your book?
7. 你有时间吗？
   Nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?
   Do you have time?
8. 你会说中文吗？
   Nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
   Can you speak Chinese?
9. 你去学校吗？
   Nǐ qù xuéxiào ma?
   Are you going to school?
10. 你爸爸在家吗？
    Nǐ bàba zài jiā ma?
    Is your dad at home?
11. 你吃饭了吗？
    Nǐ chī fàn le ma?
    Have you eaten?
12. 咖啡好喝吗？
    Kāfēi hǎohē ma?
    Is the coffee good (to drink)?
13. 你累吗？
    Nǐ lèi ma?
    Are you tired?
14. 我很好，你呢？
    Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
    I'm fine, and you?
    呢 (ne), not 吗, for a follow-up
15. 你们都是中国人吗？
    Nǐmen dōu shì Zhōngguórén ma?
    Are you all Chinese?
16. 老师今天来吗？
    Lǎoshī jīntiān lái ma?
    Is the teacher coming today?
17. 你明白吗？
    Nǐ míngbai ma?
    Do you understand?

Common mistakes

• ❌ 你是谁吗？ (nǐ shì shéi ma) → ✅ 你是谁？ (nǐ shì shéi) — “Who are you?” already has the question word 谁 (shéi), so no 吗 (ma).
• ❌ 你去哪里吗？ (nǐ qù nǎlǐ ma) → ✅ 你去哪里？ (nǐ qù nǎlǐ) — 哪里 (nǎlǐ, “where”) makes it a question already.
• ❌ 吗你是学生？ (ma nǐ shì xuéshēng) → ✅ 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma) — 吗 (ma) goes at the very end, never at the front.
• ❌ 你是不是学生吗？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng ma) → ✅ 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma) or 你是不是学生？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng) — pick one pattern; don’t use 吗 (ma) and A-not-A together.
• ❌ 你好么 (nǐ hǎo me) → ✅ 你好吗 (nǐ hǎo ma) — the question particle is 吗 (ma), written with the 口 (kǒu, “mouth”) radical.

A short conversation

A: 你好！你是中国人吗？ (Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ shì Zhōngguórén ma?) — Hello! Are you Chinese? B: 不是。我是英国人。你呢？ (Bú shì. Wǒ shì Yīngguórén. Nǐ ne?) — No, I’m British. And you? A: 我是中国人。你会说中文吗？ (Wǒ shì Zhōngguórén. Nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?) — I’m Chinese. Can you speak Chinese? B: 会一点儿。 (Huì yìdiǎnr.) — A little.

Notice the follow-up uses 呢 (ne), not 吗 (ma): 你呢？ (nǐ ne?, “and you?”).

Usage notes

• Answer by repeating the verb. Mandarin often has no plain word for “yes”. To answer 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma?) you say 是 (shì, “am”) or 不是 (bú shì, “am not”); to answer 你去吗？ (nǐ qù ma?) you say 去 (qù) or 不去 (bú qù). 对 (duì, “correct”) also works as “yes, that’s right”.
• 呢 (ne) for follow-ups. After a statement, 呢 (ne) bounces the same question back: 我很好。你呢？ (wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne?) — “I’m fine, and you?”. It is not interchangeable with 吗 (ma).
• Register. A 吗 (ma) question is neutral and polite, fine in any situation. 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma?) is the textbook greeting; in casual talk people also greet with other phrases such as 最近怎么样？ (zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?, “how have things been lately?”).
• 了…吗 (le…ma) for “have you…yet”. Adding 吗 (ma) after 了 (le) asks whether something has happened: 你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chī fàn le ma?, “have you eaten?”).

Compared with 是不是 (shì bu shì) — the A-not-A question

Mandarin has a second way to ask a yes/no question: the A-not-A pattern, where you say the verb, then 不 (bù), then the verb again — 你是不是学生？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng?, “are you a student (or not)?”). It means almost the same as the 吗 (ma) question and sounds a touch more neutral. The key rule: use one or the other, never both in the same sentence. See more patterns in the Chinese grammar section.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

吗 (ma) question practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 How do you turn 你喜欢茶 (nǐ xǐhuan chá, 'you like tea') into a yes/no question?

吗你喜欢茶？ (ma nǐ xǐhuan chá) 你喜欢吗茶？ (nǐ xǐhuan ma chá) 你喜欢茶吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan chá ma) 你喜欢茶呢？ (nǐ xǐhuan chá ne)

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你喜欢茶吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan chá ma) — Add 吗 (ma) at the very end: 你喜欢茶吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan chá ma).

2 Add the yes/no question particle at the end — 'Are you busy?': 你忙 (nǐ máng) ____ ？ Type the pinyin.

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Hint: the neutral-tone yes/no particle

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ma — 你忙吗？ (nǐ máng ma?): 吗 (ma) at the end makes a yes/no question.

3 Which sentence is WRONG?

你是老师吗？ (nǐ shì lǎoshī ma) 你是谁吗？ (nǐ shì shéi ma) 你好吗？ (nǐ hǎo ma) 你有时间吗？ (nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma)

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你是谁吗？ (nǐ shì shéi ma) — 谁 (shéi, 'who') already makes a question, so 吗 (ma) is wrong: say 你是谁？ (nǐ shì shéi).

4 Order the words: 'Is this your book?'

吗 (ma)这 (zhè)你的书 (nǐ de shū)是 (shì)

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这 (zhè) 是 (shì) 你的书 (nǐ de shū) 吗 (ma) — Statement 这是你的书 (zhè shì nǐ de shū) + 吗 (ma) at the end.

5 Match each particle or answer to its job.

• 吗 (ma) Match for 吗 (ma) — choose — answers 'no (I'm not)'answers 'yes (I am)'makes a yes/no questionshort follow-up: 'and you?'
• 呢 (ne) Match for 呢 (ne) — choose — answers 'no (I'm not)'answers 'yes (I am)'makes a yes/no questionshort follow-up: 'and you?'
• 是 (shì) Match for 是 (shì) — choose — answers 'no (I'm not)'answers 'yes (I am)'makes a yes/no questionshort follow-up: 'and you?'
• 不是 (bú shì) Match for 不是 (bú shì) — choose — answers 'no (I'm not)'answers 'yes (I am)'makes a yes/no questionshort follow-up: 'and you?'

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• 吗 (ma) → makes a yes/no question
• 呢 (ne) → short follow-up: 'and you?'
• 是 (shì) → answers 'yes (I am)'
• 不是 (bú shì) → answers 'no (I'm not)'

吗 (ma) asks, 呢 (ne) bounces back, and you answer by repeating the verb.

Quiz

Check yourself

Questions with 吗 (ma)

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Where does 吗 (ma) go in a yes/no question?

   A at the very beginning B right after the subject C at the very end D after the verb
   Show answer

   at the very end — 吗 (ma) is placed at the very end of the statement.

2. 2Turn 他是医生 (tā shì yīshēng) into a question.

   A 吗他是医生？ (ma tā shì yīshēng) B 他是医生吗？ (tā shì yīshēng ma) C 他吗是医生？ (tā ma shì yīshēng) D 他是吗医生？ (tā shì ma yīshēng)
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   他是医生吗？ (tā shì yīshēng ma) — Add 吗 (ma) at the end: 他是医生吗？ (tā shì yīshēng ma).

3. 3What tone does 吗 (ma) carry?

   A 1st tone B 4th tone C 3rd tone D neutral (no tone mark)
   Show answer

   neutral (no tone mark) — 吗 (ma) is a neutral-tone particle, so it has no tone mark.

4. 4Does the word order change when you add 吗 (ma)?

   A no, it stays the same B yes, the verb moves to the front C yes, you add 做 (zuò) D yes, the subject and verb swap
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   no, it stays the same — Unlike English, nothing moves — you only add 吗 (ma) at the end.

5. 5Which sentence is WRONG?

   A 你喜欢什么吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan shénme ma) B 你喜欢咖啡吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma) C 你忙吗？ (nǐ máng ma) D 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma)
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   你喜欢什么吗？ (nǐ xǐhuan shénme ma) — 什么 (shénme, 'what') is a question word, so 吗 (ma) must not be added.

6. 6How do you answer 'no' to 你是学生吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma)?

   A 不 (bù) B 不是 (bú shì) C 没 (méi) D 吗 (ma)
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   不是 (bú shì) — Repeat the verb in the negative: 不是 (bú shì).

7. 7Which particle makes a short follow-up like 'and you?'

   A 吗 (ma) B 了 (le) C 呢 (ne) D 的 (de)
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   呢 (ne) — 呢 (ne) bounces the question back: 你呢？ (nǐ ne?).

8. 8Which is a correct A-not-A question meaning 'are you a student?'

   A 你是不是学生吗？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng ma) B 你是不是学生？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng) C 你不是学生吗吗？ (nǐ bú shì xuéshēng ma ma) D 你是学生不吗？ (nǐ shì xuéshēng bù ma)
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   你是不是学生？ (nǐ shì bu shì xuéshēng) — A-not-A repeats the verb around 不 (bù): 你是不是学生？ — and it never takes 吗 (ma) as well.

9. 9'Have you eaten?' is…

   A 你吃饭吗了？ (nǐ chī fàn ma le) B 你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chī fàn le ma) C 吗你吃饭了？ (ma nǐ chī fàn le) D 你了吃饭吗？ (nǐ le chī fàn ma)
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   你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chī fàn le ma) — 了 (le) then 吗 (ma) at the end: 你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chī fàn le ma).

10. 10Can you say 你是不是老师吗？ (nǐ shì bu shì lǎoshī ma)?

    A yes, it is more polite B no — don't combine A-not-A with 吗 (ma) C yes, 吗 (ma) is required D only in questions about people
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    no — don't combine A-not-A with 吗 (ma) — Use either the 吗 (ma) question or the A-not-A pattern, never both.

11. 11The character 吗 (ma) contains which radical?

    A 口 (kǒu, 'mouth') B 马 (mǎ, 'horse') only C 女 (nǚ, 'woman') D 心 (xīn, 'heart')
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    口 (kǒu, 'mouth') — The character 吗 (ma) uses the 口 (kǒu) mouth radical plus 马 (mǎ) for the sound.

12. 12Add the right particle for a follow-up 'and you?': 你 (nǐ) ____ ？ Type the pinyin.
    Check
    Show answer

    ne — Use 呢 (ne) for a follow-up, not 吗 (ma): 你呢？ (nǐ ne?).

Recap cheat-sheet

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