The word when in chinese

“When I become a rich guy, I’ll…”

Yeah, keep dreaming. We are not going to teach you how to become a millionaire here, but at least at the end of this article, you’ll know how to say it in Chinese among other things, with the super useful time expression …的时候 (de shíhou).

Sounds good? Let’s dig in!

Forming the Time Expression …的时候 (de shíhou)

The time expression “…的时候 (de shíhou)” is quite similar to the English “when… (sth happens)”. You can use it to talk about things that happen at or during a particular time. It could be in the past, present, or future. To do so, simply attach 的时候 (de shíhou) to the word or phrase that indicates the time in the sentence.

Pattern

time-indicating words/phrases + 的时候 (de shíhou)

Depending on the context, the structure can be translated as “when (sth happens)”, “at the time (sth happens)” or “during the time (sth happens)”, etc.

Examples:

• 我们到达的时候，他已经走了。
  Wǒmen dàodá de shíhou, tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
  When we arrived there, he had already left. (at the time we arrived…)

• 我上大学的时候，美国总统还是奥巴马。
  Wǒ shàng dàxué de shíhou, měiguó zǒngtǒng háishì Àobāmǎ.
  When I was attending university, the U.S. president was still Obama. (during the time I was…)

• 我在欧洲旅行的时候，认识了我的女朋友。
  Wǒ zài ōuzhōu lǚxíng de shíhou, rènshi le wǒ de nǚpéngyou.
  When I was traveling in Europe, I met my girlfriend. (during the time I was…)

• 罗纳尔多在皇马的时候，进了451球。
  Luónà’ěrduō zài huángmǎ de shíhou, jìn le 451 qiú.
  When Ronaldo was in (playing for) Real Madrid, he scored 451 goals. (during the time he was…)

When the subject pronoun is self-evident from the context, native speakers often omit it for the sake of concision.

For instance, in commands:

• 你吃饭的时候不要说话。Nǐ chīfàn de shíhou búyào shuōhuà.
  → 吃饭的时候不要说话。Chīfàn de shíhou búyào shuōhuà.
  When you’re eating, don’t talk. 

• 你开车的时候别看手机。Nǐ kāichē de shíhou bié kàn shǒujī.
  → 开车的时候别看手机。Kāichē de shíhou bié kàn shǒujī.
  When you’re driving, don’t look at the phone.

It doesn’t have to be a verb or verb phrase (e.g. “we arrived”, “you’re eating”) before “…的时候 (de shíhou)”, in Chinese, it can simply be an adjective. And again, the subject is often omitted on purpose to avoid redundancy.

• 生气的时候不要做决定。
  Shēngqì de shíhou búyào zuò juédìng.
  When (you’re) angry, don’t make decisions. 

• 难过的时候我会哭。
  Nánguò de shíhou wǒ huì kū.
  When (I’m) sad, I will cry.

• 年轻的时候他非常帅。
  Niánqīng de shíhou tā fēicháng shuài.
  When (he’s) young, he was very handsome.  

Though strange it may sound in English, you can use a noun directly before “的时候 (de shíhou)” in Chinese as well (as long as the noun can indicate the time). In this case, you will find it easy to translate the structure as “at the time of…” or “during the time of…”

For example:

• 冬天的时候这里会下雪。
  Dōngtiān de shíhou zhèli huì xiàxuě.
  When (it’s) winter, it will snow here. (at/during the time of winter)

• 她生日的时候，我会给她一个惊喜。
  Tā shēngrì de shíhou, wǒ huì gěi tā yí gè jīngxǐ.
  When (it’s) her birthday, I will give her a surprise. (at the time of her birthday)

• 九岁的时候谢尔顿上了高中。
  Jiǔ suì de shíhou Xiè’ěrdùn shàng le gāozhōng.
  When (he was) nine years old, Sheldon went to high school. (at the time of nine years old)

Position of ….的时候 (de shíhou) in a Sentence

You might be aware of the basic sentence order in Chinese involving time, essentially, time words or expressions can only appear in one of the two positions in a sentence: either at the very beginning of the sentence (before the subject), or immediately after the subject.

For instance.

In this example, the time word “tomorrow” can either appear before the subject “I” or after it.

Now, the time expression “…的时候” works exactly the same way as the time word in the sentence. You either use it before the subject or immediately after it (if the subject is not omitted).

Alert! Never use ….的时候 (de shíhou) at the end of the sentence!

In English, it’s probably more natural to say “I met my girlfriend when I was traveling in Europe.” However, if you are saving the time expression for the end of the sentence in Chinese, you can’t be more wrong. It should only be used before the subject or directly after it.

• × 我认识了我的女朋友，在欧洲旅行的时候。
  Wǒ rènshi le wǒ de nǚpéngyou, zài ōuzhōu lǚxíng de shíhou.
  Never use the time expression at the end of the sentence!

• × 我会哭，难过的时候。
  Wǒ huì kū, nánguò de shíhou.
  Never use the time expression at the end of the sentence!

• × 谢尔顿上了高中，九岁的时候。
  Xiè’ěrdùn shàng le gāozhōng, jiǔ suì de shíhou.
  I repeat: never use the time expression at the end of the sentence!

You might occasionally find the structure …的时候 at the end of a sentence in some lyrics or poems for the effect of rhyming, this, however, is not grammatically correct and should never be adopted in regular conversational Chinese.  

Short Form of 的时候 (de shíhou): 时 (shí)

的时候 (de shíhou) can be shortened to simply 时 (shí) without changing its meaning.

我们到达的时候，他已经走了。Wǒmen dàodá de shíhou, tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
→ 我们到达时，他已经走了。Wǒmen dàodá shí, tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
When we arrived, he had already left.

Since the expression 时 (shí) consists of only one syllable, it sounds slightly more formal than 的时候 (de shíhou). Nevertheless, you can use 时 (shí) in spoken Chinese whenever you want to keep sentences short and concise. (just replace 的时候 (de shíhou) with 时 (shí), that’s it!)

• 我上大学时，美国总统还是奥巴马。
  Wǒ shàng dàxué shí, měiguó zǒngtǒng háishì Àobāmǎ.
  When I was attending university, the U.S. president was still Obama.

• 我在欧洲旅行时，认识了我的女朋友。
  Wǒ zài ōuzhōu lǚxíng shí, rènshi le wǒ de nǚpéngyou.
  When I was traveling in Europe, I met my girlfriend.

• 罗纳尔多在皇马时，进了451球。
  Luónà’ěrduō zài huángmǎ shí, jìn le 451 qiú.
  When Ronaldo was in (playing for) Real Madrid, he scored 451 goals.

• 吃饭时不要说话。
  Chīfàn shí búyào shuōhuà.
  When (you’re) eating, don’t talk. 

• 开车时别看手机。
  Kāichē shí bié kàn shǒujī!
  When (you’re) driving, don’t look at the phone! 

• 生气时不要做决定。
  Shēngqì shí búyào zuò juédìng.
  When (you’re) angry, don’t make decisions. 

• 难过时我会哭。
  Nánguò shí wǒ huì kū.
  When (I’m) sad, I will cry.

• 年轻时他非常帅。
  Niánqīng shí tā fēicháng shuài.
  When (he’s) young, he was very handsome.  

• 冬天时这里会下雪。
  Dōngtiān shí zhèli huì xiàxuě.
  When (it’s) winter, it will snow here.

• 她生日时，我会给她一个惊喜。
  Tā shēngrì shí, wǒ huì gěi tā yí gè jīngxǐ.
  When (it’s) her birthday, I will give her a surprise.

• 九岁时谢尔顿上了高中。
  Jiǔ suì shí Xiè’ěrdùn shàng le gāozhōng.
  When (he’s) nine years old, Sheldon went to high school.

And of course, the sentence order rule still applies, therefore you can also say,

• 在欧洲旅行时，我认识了我的女朋友。
  Zài ōuzhōu lǚxíng shí, wǒ rènshi le wǒ de nǚpéngyou.
  Literally: When traveling in Europe, I met my girlfriend. (time before the subject)

• 我难过时会哭。
  Wǒ nánguò shí huì kū.
  Literally: I, when (I’m) sad, will cry. (time after the subject)

• 谢尔顿九岁时上了高中。
  Xiè’ěrdùn jiǔ suì shí shàng le gāozhōng.
  Literally: Sheldon, when (he’s) nine years old, went to high school. (time after the subject)

Getting back to the very beginning of this article, can you figure out how to say “When I become a rich guy…” now?

Answer:

• 我成为有钱人的时候… Wǒ chéngwéi yǒuqián rén de shíhou…
  Or  
• 我成为有钱人时… Wǒ chéngwéi yǒuqián rén shí…

Quick Recap: …的时候 (de shíhou)

• …的时候 (de shíhou) is the rough equivalence to the English “when… (sth happens)”.
• Basic pattern: time-indicating words/phrases + 的时候 (de shíhou)
• Use the time expression before or after the subject only.
• To sound concise, simply use its short form: …时 (shí).

Remember, grammar is the glue that holds the pieces of language together, so don’t forget to check other grammar articles on ImproveMandarin.Com’s Grammar Channel! 谢谢 (xièxie) for reading this!

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Lesson Transcript

Hēi , dàjiā hǎo , wǒ jiào Mǎ Yànrú. Hi everybody! I’m Mǎ Yànrú.

Welcome to ChineseClass101. com’s “Sān fēnzhōng Hànyǔ”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Chinese.

In the last lesson, we learned how to ask «Where» questions in Chinese.

This time, we’re going to ask «When» questions.

Let’s go!

You want to ask when your roommate is coming back home. You can ask him Nǐ shénme shíhòu huí jiā?

Let’s break it down:

nǐ is «you».

shénme shíhòu is the basic translation of «When» in Chinese. Here shénme, as we learned, means «What», and shíhòu means “time”, so literally you’re asking «What time?»

Huí is a verb meaning «to come back»,

And finally jiā is «home.»

So, altogether it is Nǐ shénme shíhòu huí jiā?»

«When will you come back home?»

[slowly] Nǐ shénme shíhòu huí jiā?

In Chinese, «When» can be translated many ways. Take the last question for instance — we could also ask Nǐ jǐ diǎn huí jiā? Here jǐ diǎn is another phrase which means «what time,» but unlike shénme shíhòu, this is specifically asking for the time. Here, I’ll show you what I mean:

As a response to Nǐ shénme shíhòu huí jiā? The answer could be either Wǒ xiàwǔ huí jiā, “I will come back home in the afternoon” or Wǒ wǎnshang qī diǎn huí jiā, “I will come back home at 7 p.m.”

But as a response to nǐ jǐ diǎn huí jiā? there is only one answer you can give — Wǒ wǎnshang qī diǎn huí jiā. It’s like the difference between being asked «When are you coming home?» and «What time are you coming home?» in English. For the second question, you have to answer with the time.

Let’s see another example. If you want to ask «When were you born?» you could say Nǐ shénme shíhòu chūshēng de?

But you might get ‘Wǒ shì zǎoshang wǔ diǎn chūshēng de’ as a response. This means “I was born at 5 a.m.”

You were probably wondering about the year, so to avoid being ambiguous you’ll need to make your question more specific. To do this, you could ask nǐ shì nǎ yī nián chūshēng de? Here nǎ yī nián means “which year”. Now you’re asking «Which year were you born?» and you’ll get the answer you expect: ‘Wǒ shì yī jiǔ bā liù nián chūshēng de’, which means “I was born in 1986.”

Did you notice that there is a little word, de, at the end of the last few sentences? It’s a word that shows the sentence is in past tense.

Now it’s time for Chen Tips.

We know “when” can be translated in many ways. But the basic translation shénme shíhòu is very important. It’s a very useful phrase that can be used in all the situations we have talked about. Although it may cause misunderstandings sometimes, if you’re careful with it, you should be able to get the answer you want.

In this lesson, we learned how to ask «When» questions in Chinese

Next lesson we’ll learn about asking «Who» questions.

I’ll be waiting for you in the next “Sān fēnzhōng Hànyǔ” lesson.

Zàijiàn!

Grammar 1: Ask When in Chinese · HSK 1

The most common way to ask when in Chinese is to use the Question Phrase 什么时候 shénme shíhou. 什么 means what. 时候 refers to (1) a time point; (2) a time period, a duration of time. 什么时候 together can be translated as when in Chinese. To ask when in Chinese, we follow this structure:

Subject + 什么时候 + Predicate (+ Object)

For example:

• nǐmen shénme shíhou huí Zhōngguó
  你们什么时候回中国？
  when (do) you guys (go/come) back to China
• wǒmen shénme shíhou zǒu
  我们什么时候走？
  when do we leave

Grammar 2: Ask When in Chinese More Specifically· HSK 1

Instead of asking when in general, we may sometimes want to ask when more specifically. For example what time of the day, what day of the week, or what day of the month… Below are some useful Time Question Phrases that can be used to ask when in Chinese more specifically:

• jǐdiǎn 几点 what time/what o’clock
• xīngqījǐ 星期几 what day of the week
• jǐhào / jǐrì 几号 / 几日 what day of the month
• jǐyuè 几月 which month
• nǎnián 哪年 which year

When we ask questions with them, we also follow this structure:

Subject + Time Question Phrase + Predicate (+ Object)

For example:

• diànyǐng jǐdiǎn kāishǐ
  电影几点开始？
  what time does the movie start
• wǒmen xīngqījǐ bú shàng Hànyǔkè
  我们星期几不上汉语课？
  what day of the week we don’t have Chinese class
• tā jǐhào huí Měiguó
  他几号回美国？
  what day (of the month) (does) he return America
• nǐ jǐyuè kāishǐ xué Hànyǔ
  你几月开始学汉语？
  which month do you start to learn Chinese
• wǒmen nǎnián qù Shànghǎi lǚyóu
  我们哪年去上海旅游？
  which year do we go to Shanghai to travel

Sometimes these Time Question Phrases can even be combined together to ask when in Chinese more specifically, for example:

• diànyǐng xīngqījǐ jǐdiǎn kāishǐ
  电影星期几几点开始？
  the movie starts on what day of the week and what time on the clock
• nǐ jǐyuè jǐhào bú shàngbān
  你几月几号不上班？
  what month and what day you don’t work

Grammar 3: 店 — Different Shops in Chinese · HSK 1

We learned that in Chinese 店 diàn means shop or store, as in 商店 shāngdiàn. If we want to say different shops in Chinese, usually we can use this structure:

product name + 店

For example:

• kāfēidiàn 咖啡店 coffee shop
• cháyèdiàn 茶叶店 tea leaves shop
• shūdiàn 书店 bookstore

Be careful that not all shops use this structure.

Grammar 4: 走 — To Walk or to Leave in Chinese · HSK 1

走 zǒu means to walk or to leave in Chinese. So this sentence could have two meanings:

• wǒ bùxiǎng zǒu
  我不想走。
  I don’t want to walk / I don’t want to leave

he; him (used for either sex when the sex is unknown or unimportant) / (used before sb’s name for emphasis) / (used as a meaningless mock object) / (literary) other

HSK 1

one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / «one» radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

HSK 1

to go / to go to (a place) / (of a time etc) last / just passed / to send / to remove / to get rid of / to reduce / to be apart from in space or time / to die (euphemism) / to play (a part) / (when used either before or after a verb) to go in order to do sth / (after a verb of motion indicates movement away from the speaker) / (used after certain verbs to indicate detachment or separation)

HSK 1

to go to the bottom of a matter / after all / when all is said and done / (in an interrogative sentence) finally / outcome / result

HSK 4

to be / to act as / manage / withstand / when / during / ought / should / match equally / equal / same / obstruct / just at (a time or place) / on the spot / right / just at

HSK 4

to think (i.e. to take it to be true that …) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is mistaken – except when expressing one’s own current opinion.)

HSK 4

square / power or involution (math.) / upright / honest / fair and square / direction / side / party (to a contract, dispute etc) / place / method / prescription (medicine) / just when / only or just / classifier for square things / abbr. for square or cubic meter

HSK 5

after all / all in all / when all is said and done / in the final analysis

HSK 5

cave / hole / zero (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers) / CL: 個｜个

HSK 5

only if (…, or otherwise, …) / only when / only in the case that / unless

HSK 5

in the evening / when night falls / towards evening / at night fall / at dusk

HSK 5

hello (when answering the phone)

HSK 6

replaces 啊 when following the vowel «u» or «ao»

HSK 6

o’clock / time / when / hour / season / period

to exclude / not including sth (when counting or listing) / except for

when

finally / in the end / when all is said and done / after all / to the end / to the last

that one / that thing / that (as opposed to this) / (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis) / (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one can’t think of the right word) / (used in speech as a filler, similar to «umm», «you know» etc) / (euph.) menstruation / sex / also pr. [nei4 ge5]

in case (sth happens) / if / once (sth happens, then…) / when / in a short time / in one day

to the greatest extent / (when used before a noun of location) furthest or extreme / to be within the limits of / to give priority to

lit. tread the green; go for a walk in the spring (when the grass has turned green) / spring hike season around Qingming festival 清明, 4th-6th April

to wait until / by the time when (sth is ready etc)

to deduct marks (when grading school work) / to have marks deducted / penalty points / to lose points for a penalty or error

the part of a bow grasped when shooting

to premiere (a movie or TV show) / premiere (of a movie) / first-run (movie) / to greet (the eye) before anything else (e.g. when entering a room)

double seven festival, evening of seventh of lunar seventh month / girls’ festival / Chinese Valentine’s day, when Cowherd and Weaving maid 牛郎織女｜牛郎织女 are allowed their annual meeting

timely / just (when needed)

under one’s control or administration / subordinates / (money etc) on hand / sb’s financial means / when taking action

eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) / aubergine / brinjal / Guinea squash / phonetic «cheese» (when being photographed) / equivalent of «say cheese»

lit. to have a target in mind when shooting one’s arrows (idiom) / fig. to have a clear objective

when the time comes / at the scheduled time

to narrow one’s eyes (as when smiling or squinting)

to brake (when driving) / to stop / to switch off / to check (bad habits) / a brake

to be in love when one is too young; puppy love

to drop off / to come off / to lose (hair etc) / to omit (a character when writing)

only when absolutely essential (idiom); as a last resort

to seek help (when in distress or having difficulties)

one’s share of expenses (e.g. when buying a gift collectively) / cash gift

lit. when you drink water, think of its source (idiom); gratitude for blessings and their well-spring / Don’t forget where your happiness come from. / Be grateful for all your blessings!

sleep / drowse when unconscious / lethargic sleep / lethargy

mojibake (nonsense characters displayed when software fails to render text according to its intended character encoding)

lit. to kill the donkey when the grinding is done (idiom) / fig. to get rid of sb once he has ceased to be useful

when hungry, you can’t pick what you eat (idiom); beggars can’t be choosers / When matters are urgent, don’t spend time choosing alternatives.

Ghost Festival on 15th day of 7th lunar month when offerings are made to the deceased

to change one’s tune / to modify one’s previous remark / to change the way one addresses sb (as when one marries and starts to call one’s husband’s parents 爸爸 and 媽媽｜妈妈)

at what time?; when?

(rhetorical question) when? / how? / it’s not that…

stroke order (when writing Chinese character)

to do sth when least expected (idiom); to catch sb off guard

lit. where water flows, a canal is formed (idiom) / fig. when conditions are right, success will follow naturally

on this (occasion) / at this time when … / on this occasion

to include (as a free gift, when buying sth) / to come with

why / how / when / what / where

half of the country (esp. when half the country has fallen into enemy hands) / vast swathe of territory

to turn over (when lying) / (fig.) to free oneself / to emancipate oneself / to bring about a change of one’s fortunes

lit. (of fish) to moisten each other with spittle (when water is drying up) (idiom) / fig. to share meager resources / mutual help in humble circumstances

transliteration (rendering phonetic value, e.g. of English words in Chinese characters) / characters giving phonetic value of Chinese word or name (when the correct characters may be unknown) / transcription (linguistics) / to transcribe phonetic symbols

to find a way to survive when everything seems hopeless (idiom)

to advance or retreat / knowing when to come and when to leave / a sense of propriety

when?

at one’s convenience / when one has time

Hongmen feast / (fig.) banquet set up with the aim of murdering a guest / refers to a famous episode in 206 BC when future Han emperor Liu Bang 劉邦｜刘邦 escaped attempted murder by his rival Xiang Yu 項羽｜项羽

just a while before / not so long ago / everyone can remember when..

a legendary tree that sheds coins when shaken / a source of easy money (idiom)

to throw stones at sb who has fallen down a well (idiom) / to hit a person when he’s down

early evening when lanterns are first lit

(of a ship, train etc) not carrying any load (i.e. no passengers or freight etc) / (electricity) no-load (used to describe the condition of a transformer when there is no load connected to its secondary coil)

(idiom) to refrain from going too far; to know when to stop

to make a counteroffer when haggling / to bargain

to think of the pain when the pain is gone (idiom) / to ponder about a painful experience

voice change (at puberty) / to alter one’s voice (deliberately) / to sound different (when angry etc)

to clear streets when emperor tours

ice-jam flood (arising when river downstream freezes more than upstream)

the future is long (idiom); there will be ample time for that later / We’ll cross that bridge when we get there

to close (flower, eyes, suitcase etc) / to bring together / (insect or bird when not flying) to fold (its wings)

to reach / when

(medicine) tenderness; pain experienced when touched or palpated

lit. when a rat crosses the street, people chase it down (idiom) / fig. everyone detests a lowlife

the whole family / the same family / the family … (when preceded by a family name) / group

when things reach an extreme, they can only move in the opposite direction (idiom)

lit. even a prairie fire cannot destroy the grass — it grows again when the breeze blows (proverb) / fig. cannot be easily eliminated / abbr. to 野火春風｜野火春风

lit. to clasp the Buddha’s feet (without ever having burned incense) (idiom); fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / panic measures in place of timely preparation

lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom) / fig. when two sides are locked in dispute, it’s often a third party that benefits

lit. when the seas run dry and the stones go soft (idiom) / fig. forever / until the end of time

youngest / most junior / tiny / one (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers, esp. on telephone or in military) / one or ace on dice or dominoes / variant of 吆, to shout

tiger tally (a two-piece object made in the shape of a tiger, used in ancient China as proof of authority. One half of a tally could be issued to a military officer and this would be matched with the other half when verification was required.)

thermal cleavage (i.e. sth splits when heated)

neap tide (the smallest tide, when moon is at first or third quarter)

lit. a dagger hidden in smiles (idiom); friendly manners belying hypocritical intentions / when the fox preaches, look to the geese

(literary) when / by the time / Taiwan pr. [bi4 ji2]

When you enter a village, follow the local customs (idiom); do as the natives do / When in Rome, do as the Romans do

when you teach someone, both teacher and student will benefit

to tie up one’s hair / (literary) (of a boy) to be in one’s adolescence (when boys in ancient China would tie up their hair)

to reveal one’s valuables inadvertently / to betray one’s silver (money) when traveling

lit. the assassin’s dagger, concealed in a map scroll, is suddenly revealed when the map is unrolled (referring to the attempted assassination of Ying Zheng 嬴政 by Jing Ke 荊軻｜荆轲 in 227 BC) (idiom) / fig. malicious intent suddenly becomes apparent

lit. (bamboo) splits when it meets the knife’s edge (idiom) / fig. easily solved

lit. peace when you come or go / peace wherever you go

lit. to beat a drowning dog (idiom) / fig. to pulverize an (already defeated) enemy / to hit sb when he’s down

lit. when people leave, the tea cools (idiom) / fig. when sb is no longer in a position of power, others cease to care about him

to turn over when asleep

Who, what, when, where, why, and how: these question words are all used when forming questions in Chinese. The important thing to remember is that word order is the same in Chinese for questions and statements.

Overview

Common Question Words List

In English, question words are also known as wh-words, as the majority of them begin with wh:

Rules

In English, question words have to be placed at the beginning of the sentence. This involves changing the word order to allow this rearrangement. In Chinese, using question words is a lot simpler. You simply place a question word in the place of the thing you want to ask about. Nothing needs to be rearranged.

So if the statement is

the question form — «who are you?» — has the same word order:

This works for whatever it is you want to ask about. The question form has the same word order as the statement form.

Expressing «What» with 什么 (shénme)

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 什么 + (Noun) ?

Examples

Expressing «Where» with 哪里 (nǎlǐ) / 哪儿 (nǎr)

The words 哪里 (nǎlǐ) and 哪儿 (nǎr) mean the same thing. The difference is simply regional preference: 哪里 (nǎlǐ) is preferred in the south (Shanghai, Taiwan), whereas 哪儿 (nǎr) is preferred in the north (Beijing, Xi’an).

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 哪里 / 哪儿 ?

Examples

Expressing «Which» with 哪个 (nǎge)

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 哪个 (+ Noun) ?

Examples

Expressing «Who» with 谁 (shéi)

Structure

Subj. + 是 + 谁 ?

谁 + Verb ?

Examples

Expressing «When» with 什么时候 (shénme shíhou)

Structure

Subj. + 什么时候 + Predicate ?

Examples for asking and telling when (to keep things simple, we’ll just include questions about the future; asking questions about the past can be slightly more complicated and may involve the «shi… de» construction).

Examples

Expressing «Why» with 为什么 (wèishénme)

Structure

Subj. + 为什么 + Predicate ?

Examples

Expressing «How» with 怎么 (zěnme)

Structure

Subj. + 怎么 + Verb (+ Obj.) ?

Examples

See also

• Word order
• Affirmative-negative questions
• Yes-no questions with «ma»

Sources and further reading

• HSK Standard Course 1 (pp. 15, 23, 66) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 57) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 66, 251) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 46) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 23) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 132-5) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy