How to Say “What About…?” with 呢 (ne)
呢 (ne) makes quick “what about…?” questions — add it to a topic (你呢？= “and you?”). It also asks “where is…?” when the thing is already on everyone's mind (钱呢？).
Why this trips learners up
Two tiny particles turn statements into questions in Chinese, and beginners mix them up constantly. 吗 (ma) makes a yes/no question (你好吗？= “Are you OK?”). 呢 (ne) does something different: it asks “what about…?” — you name a topic, add 呢, and you're done. 你呢？= “And you? / What about you?”.
The magic of 呢 is that it carries the previous question for you. Someone asks 你好吗？, you reply 我很好，你呢？ — that 你呢 means “and how about you?” without repeating a single word. It has a second job, too: said about something that's gone missing, 呢 means “where is it?” — 钱呢？= “Where's the money?”. Just don't reach for 呢 when what you actually want is a yes/no 吗.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
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 ne 呢 Pattern
What about you? / And you?
nàge 那个 Subject ne 呢 Pattern
What about that one?
qián 钱 Subject ne 呢 Pattern
Where's the money?
wǒ de chōngdiànqì 我的充电器 Subject ne 呢 Pattern
Where's my charger?
nǐmen gōngsī 你们公司 Subject ne 呢 Pattern
What about your company?
nǐ zuótiān de miànshì 你昨天的面试 Subject ne 呢 Pattern
How about your interview yesterday?
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 呢 doesn't make a yes/no question — that's 吗's job. “Are you well?” is 你好吗？. 你好呢？isn't asking whether you're well; it lands like a half-finished “and what about you being well…?” that leaves natives waiting for more.
Why it happens: 呢 and 吗 are both question particles, so you never stack them. Pick one: 你呢？(“what about you?”) or 你好吗？(“are you OK?”) — never 你呢吗？.
Why it happens: Don't translate “what about” word for word. There's no 关于 (“about”) in it — “what about you?” is simply 你呢. Name the topic, add 呢, stop.
Compare & contrast
| 呢 — “what about…?” | 吗 — yes/no question | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 你呢？nǐ ne? | 你好吗？nǐ hǎo ma? | 你呢 throws the question back and expects an open answer. 你好吗 asks a yes/no and expects “good” or “not great”. |
| 那个呢？nàge ne? | 那个好吗？nàge hǎo ma? | 那个呢 asks for information about that one. 那个好吗 asks a simple yes/no about it. |
Try it yourself
Ask “What about your company?” — tap the words into order.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Say “What About…?” with 呢 (ne) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.