Questions

Chinese Lesson 9 (Questions and Misunderstanding)

Duration: 30 mins

Lessons Chinese Lessons
Linguistic Chinese Vocabulary
Culture Chinese Phrases
Structure Chinese Grammar

This 9th lesson teaches an important aspect in Chinese which is the interrogative form also called questions. In addition, there is a list of vocabulary terms about misunderstanding and finally some commonly used phrases. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Chinese Classes.

Questions

Being able to ask questions is what makes us curious beings, which in turns broadens our knowledge. It is no different when it comes to learning Chinese. You will always be asking questions, and the following are some tools to help you in that quest.

The following are the 5 Ws + "how" commonly used adverbs to express the interrogative form. Most likely, whenever a question needs to be asked, one of them should be used. The table contains 3 columns (English, Chinese, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Interrogative Form in Chinese

Questions Chinese Audio
How?咋办?
zǎ bàn?
What?什么?
Shénme?
When?啥时候?
Shà shíhòu?
Where?哪儿?哪里?
Nǎ'er? Nǎlǐ?
Who?谁?
Shéi?
Why?为什么?
Wèishéme?

Now we will try to implement the adverbs above into full Chinese sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Chinese Questions in a Sentence

Can I come?我可以来吗?
Wǒ kěyǐ lái ma?
Can I help you?我可以帮你吗?
Wǒ kěyǐ bāng nǐ ma?
Can you help me?你可以帮我吗?
Nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ ma?
Do you know her?你认识她吗?
Nǐ rènshì tā ma?
Do you speak English?你会讲英语吗?
Nǐ huì jiǎng yīngyǔ ma?
How difficult is it?有多难?
Yǒu duō nàn?
How far is this?这有多远?
Zhè yǒu duō yuǎn?
How much is this?多少钱?
Duōshǎo qián?
How would you like to pay?你要怎么玩?
Nǐ yào zěnme wán?
What is this called?这叫什么?
Zhè jiào shénme?
What is your name?你叫什么名字?
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
What time is it?几点?
Jǐ diǎn?
When can we meet?我们什么时候可以见面?
Wǒmen shénme shíhòu kěyǐ jiànmiàn?
Where do you live?你住哪儿?
Nǐ zhù nǎ'er?
Who is knocking at the door?谁在敲门?
Shéi zài qiāo mén?
Why is it expensive?这为什么贵?
Zhè wèishéme guì?

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me using the Chinese contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about Misunderstanding

There are times when you will not understand what a person said in Chinese, or simply that you want them to repeat a word. The following are 24 expressions used to clear misunderstandings. Very essential to any conversation!

Misunderstanding in Chinese

Misunderstanding Chinese Audio
Can you repeat?你可以再说一遍吗?
Nǐ kěyǐ zàishuō yībiàn ma?
Can you speak slowly?讲话慢一点可以吗?
Jiǎnghuà màn yīdiǎn kěyǐ ma?
Did you understand what I said?你听得懂我刚才说的话吗?
Nǐ tīng dé dǒng wǒ gāngcái shuō dehuà ma?
Don't worry!别担心。
Bié dānxīn.
Excuse me? (i.e. I beg your pardon?)请你再说一遍。
Qǐng nǐ zàishuō yībiàn.
How do you say "OK" in French?法语的OK怎么说?
Fǎyǔ de OK zěnme shuō?
I don't know!我不知道。
Wǒ bù zhīdào.
I don't understand!我不懂。
Wǒ bù dǒng.
I need to practice my French我需要练习我的法语。
Wǒ xūyào liànxí wǒ de fǎyǔ.
Is that right?对吗?
Duì ma?
Is that wrong?错吗?
Cuò ma?
Mistake错误
Cuòwù
My French is bad我的法文/法语不好。
wǒ de fǎwén/fǎyǔ bù hǎo.
No problem!没问题!
Méi wèntí!
Quickly快速地
Kuàisù de
Slowly漫漫地
mànmàn de
Sorry (to apologize)对不起。
duìbùqǐ.
To speak说话
Shuōhuà
What does that word mean in English?那个词的英语意思是什么?
nàgè cí de yīngyǔ yìsi shì shénme?
What is this?这是什么?
Zhè shì shénme?
What should I say?该怎么说?
Gāi zěnme shuō?
What?什么?
Shénme?
What's that called in French?法语怎么说?
Fǎyǔ zěnme shuō?
Write it down please!请写下来。
Qǐng xiě xiàlái.

Daily Conversation in Chinese

Finally, a list of some common phrases that you might come across from time to time. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Chinese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Chinese

English Chinese Audio
This这个
Zhège
That那个
nàgè
Here这儿,这里
zhè'er, zhèlǐ
There那儿,那里
nà'er, nàlǐ
In The Morning早上
zǎoshang
In the evening晚上
wǎnshàng
At Night夜里
yèlǐ
Really!真的!
zhēn de!
Look!看!
Kàn!
Hurry up!快点!
Kuài diǎn!

Fun Facts

Language Quote: The oldest written language was believed to be written in about 4500 BC.

Congratulations! You finished your 9th lesson in Chinese about questions, and misunderstanding. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Chinese Lesson 10. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Chinese homepage.

Lessons Chinese Lessons
Linguistic Chinese Vocabulary
Culture Chinese Phrases
Structure Chinese Grammar