Chinese Grammar Bank
HOW TO USE 呢?
呢 (ne) i is often used as an interrogative particle at the end of interrogative sentences with the three most important usages:
- Asking “what about” questions
- Asking whereabouts of someone or something
- Expressing curiosity
It can also be used at the end or middle of a statement as a modal particle.
“WHAT ABOUT…?” WITH 呢
Using 呢 is a simple way to return the question that you’ve just been asked. It can be translated as “and you?“ or ”what about you?”.
PATTERN
(answer) + 你 (nǐ) / 你们 (nǐmen) + 呢 (ne)
呢 (ne) can also be used in more general contexts, as an equivalent to the English “what about…?” or “how about…?”.
It is usually used when the speakers have already asked a similar question and don’t want to repeat the question all over again.
PATTERN
Subject + 呢 (ne)?
WHEREABOUTS OF SOMEONE/SOMEBODY
When you hear people seemingly use the 呢 (ne) without any context, they are usually asking where someone or something is, and they expect that the person or thing to be there somewhere.
For example, you are meeting with two of your friends, John and Peter, by the school gate, and when you go there only John shows up…
You can just ask John “彼得（Peter）呢?” It is used to express “How come the person or the thing is not here? Where did the person or the thing go?”
PATTERN
Person/thing + 呢 (ne)?
EXPRESSING CURIOSITY WITH 呢
呢 (ne) can be used in a multiple-choice question or open question to produce a casual, relaxed, and friendly tone, which emphasise that people are curious, interested, happy, or eager to find out the answer.
呢 (ne) can be translated as “I am wondering” or “I am interested to know”.
PATTERN
Choice questions + 呢 (ne)?
PATTERN
Open questions + 呢 (ne)?
All these questions are grammatically correct without 呢 (ne), but by adding 呢 (ne) at the end, the speakers imply that they are curious about the answer and are eager to find it out.
NOTE || Do not use 呢 (ne) and 吗 (ma) together and do not replace 吗 (ma) with 呢 (ne)。
- 他明天去吗？✅
- 他明天去吗呢？❌
You can use a choice question+ 呢 (ne) or an open question + 呢 (ne) to substitute：
- 他明天去不去呢？✅
- 他什么时候去呢？✅
ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS WITH 还是 (háishi)
When 呢 is used in an alternative question, it will be placed after the two options provided, which are commonly connected by “还是 (háishi)”.
“呢” after the latter option can be omitted.
PATTERN
Option 1 + 呢，还是 + Option 2 (+ 呢)
呢 IN RHETORICAL QUESTIONS
“呢” can also be used in rhetorical questions to soften the tone.
You can remove “呢” can be removed without changing the meaning, but it will make the tone of the question tougher.
PATTERN
Rhetorical questions + 呢？
呢 AT THE END OF A STATEMENT
呢 at the end of the statement can express the meaning of convincing someone of something, which conveys a tone of affirmation and slight exaggeration.
呢 at the end of a statement can also indicate a continuous state, suggesting to pay attention.
PATTERN
正(zhèng)……呢、V+着 (zhe)……呢、……着 (zhe) 呢
呢 IN THE MIDDLE OF A STATEMENT
When 呢 is used in the middle of a sentence, it usually denotes a pause and draws the listener’s attention to what is said after the pause.
It sometimes has a comparative meaning.
| 小王喜欢安静，小李呢，喜欢热闹。 | xiǎo wáng xǐhuān ānjìng, xiǎo lǐ ne, xǐhuān rènào. | Xiao Wang likes peace, and Xiao Li likes lively. |
| 我在学校当老师，姐姐呢，在公司做职员。 | wǒ zài xuéxiào dāng lǎoshī, jiějiě ne, zài gōngsī zuò zhíyuán. | I work as a teacher at school, and my sister works as a clerk in the company. |
Learn Mandarin with Flexi Classes
Book online classes with the best teachers in the industry.
FAQs
What is 呢?
呢 is one of the most common particles in Mandarin Chinese and has a wide range of uses.
How to use 呢?
It is often used as an interrogative particle at the end of interrogative sentences with three most important usages: asking “what about” questions, asking whereabouts of someone or something, and expressing curiosity.
Some common sentence structures are:
(answer) + 你 (nǐ) / 你们 (nǐmen) + 呢 (ne) ?
person/thing + 呢 (ne)?
Choice questions + 呢 (ne)?
Option 1 + 呢，还是 + Option 2 (+ 呢)?
How to pronounce 呢?
呢 is pronounced ‘ne’, with a neutral tone.
What are some examples with 呢?
今天我不累，你呢？jīntiān wǒ bù lèi, nǐ ne? | I’m not tired today, how about you?
我的手机呢？wǒ de shǒujī ne? | Where is my phone?
你要哪个呢？ nǐ yào nǎge ne? | Which one do you want?
我没时间玩，忙着呢。wǒ méi shíjiān wán, máng zhene. | I don’t have time to play, I’m busy.
What are some other particles I should learn?
You should definitely learn about the particle 的 since it is very often used (and is the most common character of the language!).
吧 is another common particle to learn.
Other very useful grammar to master is the difference between 不 and 没 as well as 还是 and 或者.
You can find more Chinese grammar lessons for multiple levels here.
Is learning Chinese difficult?
As with any foreign languages learning Chinese comes with a few challenges, however if your interest in the language is genuine and you are determined to study it, you’ll overcome the difficult parts more easily.
The Chinese language follows a Subject + Verb + Object pattern, just like many European languages, and do not conjugate verbs, so that’s a good start!