How to Use 呢 (ne) in Chinese Grammar [Quick Guide]

Interrogative pronouns included in such questions are 哪兒(nǎr), 什么(shénme), 怎么(zěnme), 誰(shéi), etc. 呢 is used to ask questions about content expressed by these interrogative pronouns.

For example:

A: 喂，我到了。你在哪兒呢？

Wèi, wǒ dào le. nǐ zài nǎr ne?

Hello, I’m here. Where are you?

B: 我還沒到，路上堵車了。

Wǒ hái méi dào, lùshang dǔ chē le.

I haven’t arrived yet. I’m stuck in traffic.

A: 小麗，這一路上你都不說話，在想什么呢？

Xiǎolì, zhè yí lù shang nǐ dōu bù shuōh(huán)uà, zài xiǎng shénme ne?

Xiaoli, you didn’t talk along the way. What were you thinking about?

B: 我在想明天的考試。

Wǒ zài xiǎng míngtiān de kǎoshì.

I was thinking about tomorrow’s exam.

In a certain context, 呢 can be put after a pronoun or noun (phrase) to form a simple interrogative sentence in which the interrogative pronoun is omitted. Generally speaking, the structure can be used in two ways.

Examples:

A: 我有一個妹妹。你呢？

Wǒ yǒu yí ge mèimei. Nǐ ne?

I have a sister. What about you?

B: 我沒有妹妹，只有一個弟弟。

Wǒ méiyǒu mèimei, zhǐ yǒu yí ge dìdi.

I have no sister, only one brother.

A: 我是中國人，你是美國人。他呢？

Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén, nǐ shì Měiguó rén. Tā ne?

I’ m Chinese and you’re American. What about him?

B: 他是加拿大人。

Tā shì Jiānádà rén.

He is Canadian.

Examples:

A: 我的筆呢？你看到我的筆了嗎？

Wǒ de bǐ ne? Nǐ kàndào wǒ de bǐ le ma?

Where is my pen? Have you seen my pen?

B: 在那邊的桌子上。

Zài nàbian de zhuōzi shang.

It’s over there on the table.

A: 爸，我媽呢？

Bà, wǒ mā ne?

Dad, where is mom?

B: 在廚房做飯呢。

Zài chúfáng zuòfàn ne.

She is cooking in the kitchen.

When 呢 is used in an alternative question, it will be placed after the two options provided, which are commonly connected by a “還是(háishi)”. The structure is as below. Sometimes the 呢 after the latter option can be omitted.

Option 1 + 呢，還是 + Option 2 (+ 呢)

Examples:

A: 小紅，咱們今晚是在家看電影呢，還是去逛街（呢）？

Xiǎohóng, zánmen jīnwǎn shì zài jiā kàn diànyǐng ne, háishi qù guàng jiē (ne)?

Xiaohong, shall we watch a movie at home or go shopping tonight?

B: 隨便，我都可以。

Suíbiàn, wǒ dōu kěyǐ.

I’m OK with either.

A: 你什么時候去北京？是明天呢，還是后天（呢）？

Nǐ shénme shíhou qù Běijīng? Shì míngtiān ne, háishi hòutiān (ne)?

When are you leaving for Beijing? Is it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?

B: 我還沒有想好。

Wǒ hái méiyǒu xiǎnghǎo.

I have no idea yet.

The structure of an affirmative-negative question is "Verb/Adjective?+ 不(bù) + Verb/Adjective".?The affirmative-negative question is usually used to seek confirmation or acceptance of what has been said. It is easy to make the listener feel that the questioner is impatient or giving orders. If you want to make it easier for the hearer to accept your question, you can attach 呢 to the end of the question to soften your tone.

Try to compare the following example sentences:

這牛奶你還喝不喝？

Zhè niúnǎi nǐ hái hē bu hē？

這牛奶你還喝不喝呢？

Zhè niúnǎi nǐ hái hē bu hē ne?

Do you still drink this milk?

你明天去不去看電影？

Nǐ míngtiān qù bu qù kàn diànyǐng?

你明天去不去看電影呢？

Nǐ míngtiān qù bu qù kàn diànyǐng ne?

Are you going to the cinema tomorrow?

這樣做對不對？

Zhèyang zuò duì bu duì?

這樣做對不對呢？

Zhèyang zuò duì bu duì ne?

Should I do it like this or not??

As in the affirmative-negative question, 呢 can also be used in a rhetorical question to soften the tone. You can remove 呢 at the end of the question, which will not change the meaning of the whole sentence, but it will make the tone of the question tougher.

Examples:

這么簡單的一次考試，你怎么會不及格呢？

Zhème jiǎndān de yí cì kǎoshì, nǐ zěnme huì bù jígé ne?

How could you fail such an easy test?

?

我工資這么低，哪里會有存款呢？

Wǒ gōngzī zhème dī, nǎli huì yǒu cún kuǎn ne?

How can I have savings on such a low salary?

?

事情都已經發(fā)生了，你難過又有什么用呢？

Shìqing dōu yǐjīng fāshēng le, nǐ nánguò yòu yǒu shénme yòng ne?

What’s the use of being sad when it has already happened?

If you want to convince someone of something, you can add a 呢 to the end of the statement, which conveys a tone of affirmation and slight exaggeration. Here 呢 is used as a modal particle.

For example:

A: 我要回去了。

Wǒ yào huíqu le.

I gotta get back.

B: 現(xiàn)在還很早呢，你再坐會兒吧。

Xiànzài hái hěn zǎo ne, nǐ zài zuò huìr ba.

It’s still early. You can stay longer.

A: 你做的這個餅干真好吃！

Nǐ zuò de zhège bǐnggān zhēn hǎochī!

The cookie you made tastes so good!

B: 多吃點，還有很多呢。

Duō chī diǎn, háiyǒu hěn duō ne.

Have some more. There’s plenty left.

Putting 呢 at the end of a statement can also indicate a continuous state, suggesting to pay attention. The common sentence patterns are “正(zhèng)/在(zài)......呢”, “V著(zhe)......呢”, or “......著(zhe)呢”.

Examples:

A: 爸爸怎么了？

Bàba zěnme le?

What’s wrong with dad?

B: 你別去打擾他，他正為了工作的事生氣呢。

Nǐ bié qù dǎrǎo tā, tā zhèng wèile gōngzuò de shì shēngqì ne.

He is seething over his work. Don’t bother him.

A: 媽媽，我想去找小麗一起玩。

Māma, wǒ xiǎng qù zhǎo Xiǎolì yìqǐ wán.

Mom, I want to go out with Xiaoli.

B: 外面下著雨呢，等天晴了再去吧。

Wàimiàn xiàzhe yǔ ne, děng tiān qíng le zài qù ba.

It’s raining outside. Why not wait until it clears up?

A: 小明，我們一起去踢足球吧。

Xiǎomíng, wǒmen yìqǐ qù tī zúqiú ba.

Xiaoming, let’s play soccer together.

B: 我不去，忙著呢。

Wǒ bú qù, mángzhe ne.

No. I’m busy.

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. Sometimes it comes with a comparative meaning.

Examples:

他喜歡熱鬧，我呢，喜歡安靜。

Tā xǐhuan rènao, wǒ ne, xǐhuan ānjìng.

He likes to be lively, while I like to be quiet.

?

這對雙胞胎做著不同的工作。姐姐在一所學校當老師，妹妹呢，在一家公司做會計。

Zhè duì shuāngbāotāi zuòzhe bùtóng de gōngzuò. Jiějie zài yì suǒ xuéxiào dāng lǎoshī, mèimei ne, zài yìjiā gōngsī zuò kuàijì.

The twins have different jobs. The elder sister works as a teacher in a school, while the younger sister works as an accountant in a company.

?

這小姑娘很標致，不過呢，她的言行舉止不太招人喜歡。

Zhè xiǎo gūniang hěn biāozhi, bùguò ne, tā de yánxíngjǔzhǐ bú tài zhāo rén xǐhuan.

The little girl is pretty, but she has no perfect manners.

How to Use 嗎 (ma) in Chinese Grammar

How to Use 吧 (ba) in Chinese Grammar [Quick Guide]