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A1 Beginner Questions

How to Ask Yes/No & Tag Questions with 吗 (ma)

Add 吗 (ma) to the end of any statement to make a yes/no question — no word-order change. A confirmation word + 吗 (对吗？好吗？) turns it into a tag question: “…, right? / OK?”.

Why this trips learners up

This is one of the easiest things in Chinese. Add the particle 吗 (ma) to the end of any statement and it becomes a yes/no question — no inversion, no word-order change. 你喜欢咖啡 (“You like coffee”) → 你喜欢咖啡吗？(“Do you like coffee?”). Think of 吗 as a spoken question mark. (To answer, by the way, Chinese has no all-purpose “yes”: you repeat the verb — 你饿吗？→ 饿。)

吗 has a second job: tag questions. Tack a little confirmation word — 对 (right), 好 (OK), 是 (so), or 可以 (allowed) — plus 吗 onto the end, and a statement becomes a gentle check or a soft request, exactly like English “…, right?” or “…, OK?”: 这样对吗？(“Like this, right?”), 早点睡好吗？(“Get to bed early, OK?”). One rule covers both uses: never add 吗 to a sentence that's already a question (one with 谁 / 什么, or a 还是 choice).

The structure

SubjectVerbObject 吗 ma
Colour key

Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.

Pattern Subject Verb Object Negation Adverb Function word Adjective Measure word

Examples in context

Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.

Tap a word to see its grammatical role.

nǐ 你 Subject è 饿 Adjective ma 吗 Pattern

Are you hungry?

nǐ 你 Subject hē 喝 Verb chá 茶 Object ma 吗 Pattern

Would you like some tea?

nǐ 你 Subject huì 会 Function word yóuyǒng 游泳 Verb ma 吗 Pattern

Can you swim?

nǐ 你 Subject bù 不 Negation xǐhuan 喜欢 Verb tā 他 Object ma 吗 Pattern

Don't you like him?

zhèyàng 这样 Adverb duì 对 Pattern ma 吗 Pattern

Like this, right?

zǎo diǎn 早点 Adverb shuì 睡 Verb hǎo 好 Pattern ma 吗 Pattern

Get to bed early, OK?

wǒ 我 Subject kàn 看 Verb yíxià 一下 Measure word kěyǐ 可以 Pattern ma 吗 Pattern

Can I take a look?

Common mistakes

Avoid: 你想吃什么吗？ nǐ xiǎng chī shénme ma?
Say this: 你想吃什么？ nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?

Why it happens: A sentence that already has a question word doesn't need 吗 — it's already a question. 你想吃什么 (“what do you want to eat?”) is complete; 你想吃什么吗？is like “do you want to eat what?”. One question marker per question.

Avoid: 你吗喜欢咖啡？ nǐ ma xǐhuan kāfēi?
Say this: 你喜欢咖啡吗？ nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma?

Why it happens: 吗 is a sentence-final particle — it goes at the very end, after the whole statement: 你喜欢咖啡吗？. It can't sit in the middle (你吗喜欢…).

Avoid: 这是不是书吗？ zhè shì bu shì shū ma?
Say this: 这是不是书？ zhè shì bu shì shū?

Why it happens: Don't combine 吗 with another question form. 是不是 already asks a yes/no question, so 这是不是书吗？double-marks it. Use one or the other: 这是不是书？or 这是书吗？.

Compare & contrast

Yes/no questionTag question — “…, right? / OK?”The difference
你同意吗？nǐ tóngyì ma?你同意，对吗？nǐ tóngyì, duì ma?Bare 吗 asks a genuine yes/no. Add 对吗 and you're checking something you already half-believe — “…, right?”.
我们走吗？wǒmen zǒu ma?我们走吧，好吗？wǒmen zǒu ba, hǎo ma?我们走吗 asks whether you're leaving. 我们走吧，好吗 softens it into a suggestion — “let's go, OK?”.
我可以进来吗？wǒ kěyǐ jìnlái ma?我进来，可以吗？wǒ jìnlái, kěyǐ ma?我可以进来吗 asks permission outright. 我进来，可以吗 states it, then tags on the check — gentler.
Rule of thumbBare 吗 on a statement = a real yes/no question. A confirmation word (对 / 好 / 是 / 可以) + 吗 on the end = a tag question — checking what you think, or softening a request, like English “…, right?” and “…, OK?”.

Try it yourself

Ask “Is it written like this, right?” — tap the words into order.

Related patterns

对不对How to Ask Tag Questions with 不 (bù): 对不对？

The other tag form — 对不对？好不好？ (V-不-V) instead of 对吗？好吗？.

 吧How to Make Suggestions with 吧 (ba)

吧 vs 吗 — 吧 makes a suggestion (“let's…”), 吗 asks a yes/no question.

 什么How to Use Question Words (Who, What, Where…)

吗 makes yes/no questions; question words (谁/什么…) make open ones — and you never combine them.

 呢How to Say “What About…?” with 呢 (ne)

呢 vs 吗 — 吗 makes a plain yes/no question; 呢 asks “what about?”.

 还是How to Say “Or” in a Question with 还是 (háishì)

还是 offers a choice (already a question, so no 吗); 吗 makes a plain yes/no.

 我吃饭How to Build a Basic Chinese Sentence

吗 is just appended to a normal statement — the word order doesn't change.

 啊Sentence-Final 啊 (a): The Exclamation & Urgency Particle

啊 is the opposite of a flat 吗: it adds feeling — 你来啊！(“do come!”) vs 你来吗？(“are you coming?”).

 吧Softening 吧 (ba): How to Sound Less Blunt (“…, Isn't It?”)

吧 vs 吗 again: 太贵了吧 hedges your own opinion (“isn't it?”); 太贵了吗？asks a genuine question.

 怎么样How to Ask “How Is It?” with 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)

怎么样 asks an open “how is it?”; 吗 asks a yes/no — they pair up: 这个菜怎么样？好吃吗？.

 嘛How to Say “Obviously” with 嘛 (ma)

The homophone to keep apart: 吗 (口+马) makes a yes/no question (你忙吗？), while 嘛 (口+麻) ends a statement of the obvious (你忙嘛). Same sound, opposite job.

 不是……吗How to Ask Rhetorical Questions in Chinese (不是……吗, 怎么会, 谁让你)

The rhetorical flip of a plain 吗 question: 不是……吗 keeps the 吗 but already assumes the answer is yes, turning a question into a reminder (你不是有钥匙吗？).

 难道How to Ask Rhetorical Questions with 难道 (nándào)

The rhetorical upgrade. …吗 asks a genuine yes/no question wanting a real answer (你相信他吗？); front it with 难道 and the same 吗 question becomes a challenge that expects none (难道你相信他吗？). 吗 asks; 难道…吗 makes a point.
Quick reference card
Merry Mandarin How to Ask Yes/No & Tag Questions with 吗 (ma) grammar.merrymandarin.com

A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.

Structure
Subject + Verb + Object + 吗
Example
你饿吗
Are you hungry?
Watch out
✗ 你想吃什么吗？  →  ✓ 你想吃什么？