The Chinese word 吗 is a particle that is used to form yes-no questions. It is often added to the end of a statement to indicate that the speaker is seeking confirmation or asking for a response. For example, the statement “你喜欢吃饭” means “you like to eat”, but if you add 吗 at the end, it becomes a question: “你喜欢吃饭吗?” which means “do you like to eat?”
Translation
Particle: to form a question
Pronunciation
Example Sentences
| Chinese | Pinyin | Engish |
|---|---|---|
| 你喜欢吃中餐吗？ | nǐ xǐhuān chī zhōngcān ma? | Do you like to eat Chinese food? |
| 你会说汉语吗？ | nǐ huì shuō hànyǔ ma? | Can you speak Chinese? |
| 今天天气不错，你想去散步吗？ | jīntiān tiānqì bùcuò, nǐ xiǎng qù sànbù ma? | The weather is nice today, do you want to go for a walk? |
| 你明天要上班吗？ | nǐ míngtiān yào shàngbān ma? | Are you going to work tomorrow? |
| 你喜欢看电影吗？ | nǐ xǐhuān kàn diànyǐng ma? | Do you like watching movies? |
| 你想吃点儿什么吗？ | nǐ xiǎng chī diǎn er shénme ma? | What would you like to eat? |
| 你会游泳吗？ | nǐ huì yóuyǒng ma? | Can you swim? |
| 你今天晚上有空吗？ | nǐ jīntiān wǎnshàng yǒu kòng ma? | Are you free tonight? |
HSK
吗 is part of HSK Level 1 in both HSK 2.0 and HSK 3.0.
Learning Card
