Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns (疑问代词) are pronouns that ask questions. An interrogative pronoun often stands for something you are not aware of yet, because you are asking about it.
谁
The interrogative pronoun 谁 
can be pronounced in two ways — shéi and shuí.
can be pronounced in two ways — shéi and shuí. Pay attention
In colloquial speech, the variant shéi is used more often.
In a sentence an interrogative pronoun may be either a subject or an object.
Examples
老师找谁？
Who is the teacher looking for?
lǎoshī zhǎo shéi
谁找我们的老板？
Who is our boss looking for?
shéi zhǎo wǒmen de lǎobǎn
你打算跟谁一起去旅行？
Who are you planning to travel with?
nǐ dǎsuan gēn shéi yìqǐ qù lǚxíng
什么
The interrogative pronoun 什么 translates as “what?”.
translates as “what?”.
Examples
这是什么？
What is it?
zhè shì shénme
你听什么？
What are you listening to?
nǐ tīng shénme
If there is a noun after 什么, it translates as “what kind?”.
Examples
你听什么音乐？
What kind of music are you listening to?
nǐ tīng shénme yīnyuè
这是什么东西？
What is this thing?
zhè shì shénme dōngxi
多
When the interrogative pronoun 多 comes before adjectives, it translates as “how?” or “how much?”.
In questions, 多 is often preceded by the verb 有 .
comes before adjectives, it translates as “how?” or “how much?”.
In questions, 多 is often preceded by the verb 有 .
Examples
哥哥多重？
How much does my older brother weigh?
gēge duō zhòng
你有多高？
How tall are you?
nǐ yǒu duō gāo
With 多 we also can form such questions as:
多大
多久
多长时间 (how much time?)
多久
多长时间 (how much time?)Examples
那出戏要演多长时间？
How long does the play last?
nà chū xì yào yǎn duō cháng shíjiān
你多大？
How old are you?
nǐ duōdà
多少
We use the question 多少 when we ask about the number is greater than 10 or undetermined.
when we ask about the number is greater than 10 or undetermined. Pay attention
On its own, 少 is pronounced with 3rd tone and translated as “little”.
多 is translated as “many”.
is pronounced with 3rd tone and translated as “little”.
多 is translated as “many”.After the phrase 多少 we may put a measure word, but it is not necessary.
Examples
你妈妈赚多少钱？
How much does your mother earn?
nǐ māma zhuàn duōshao qián
我们公司有多少个工人？
How many employees does our company have?
wǒmen gōngsī yǒu duōshao ge gōngrén
他走了多少公里？
How many kilometers did he walk?
tā zǒu le duōshao gōnglǐ
We can also use 多少 to ask about age if the person is more than 10 years old.
Examples
你那时多少岁？
How old were you then?
nǐ nà shí duōshao suì
几
The interrogative pronoun 几 also translates as “how much?/how many?”. However this one is used with numbers less than 10.
also translates as “how much?/how many?”. However this one is used with numbers less than 10. Pay attention
With 几 we should always use a measure word.
Scheme
几
measure word
object
Examples
你已经喝了几杯咖啡？
How many cups of coffee have you had?
nǐ yǐjīng hē le jǐ bēi kāfēi
他有几辆车？
How many cars does he have?
tā yǒu jǐ liàng chē
We can use 几 to ask a question about a child's age up to 10 years old.
Examples
你几岁了？
How old are you?
nǐ jǐ suì le
We can use 几 to ask a question about the time — “what time is it?”, “what day of the week is it?”, “what date is it?”.
Examples
今天几月几号？
What day is today?
jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào
现在几点？
What time is it?
xiànzài jǐ diǎn
你星期几有空儿？
What day of the week are you available?
nǐ xīngqī jǐ yǒu kòngr
怎么
The interrogative pronoun 怎么 can come before or after the subject.
It may be used in several situations:
1) to ask about the method of action: “how?”, “in what manner?”. It should be put before the predicate.
can come before or after the subject.
It may be used in several situations:
1) to ask about the method of action: “how?”, “in what manner?”. It should be put before the predicate.Examples
我们怎么买票呢？
How do we buy the ticket?
wǒmen zěnme mǎi piào ne
这个怎么读？
How do you read this?
zhè ge zěnme dú
2) to ask the reason, “why?”. We can put the negative particles or adverbs between 怎么 and the predicate.
Pay attention
Unlike the question 为什么 , it has a tone of reproach or displeasure.
, it has a tone of reproach or displeasure.Examples
小明昨天怎么没来？
Why didn't Xiaoming come yesterday?
xiǎomíng zuótiān zěnme méi lái
外面怎么那么冷？
Why is it so cold outside?
wàimiàn zěnme nàme lěng
3) to ask about the situation or the state of affairs.
Examples
她怎么了？
What's wrong with her?
tā zěnme le
你能告诉我怎么回事吗？
Can you tell me what's wrong?
nǐ néng gàosu wǒ zěnme huí shì ma
怎么 can also be used in rhetorical questions.
Examples
你说什么？我刚才看见他了，他怎么不在呢？
What did you say? I just saw him, how come he's not here?
nǐ shuō shénme? wǒ gāngcái kànjiàn tā le, tā zěnme bú zài ne
为什么
为什么 translates as “why?”, “what for?”.
In a sentence, it can come either before or after the subject.
translates as “why?”, “what for?”.
In a sentence, it can come either before or after the subject.
Examples
你为什么不高兴？
Why aren't you happy?
nǐ wèishéme bù gāoxìng
为什么他不吃饭？
Why isn't he eating?
wèishénme tā bù chīfàn
怎么样
The interrogative pronoun 怎么样 can be used:
1) to ask about the state of something. Can take the role of a predicate or an attribute.
can be used:
1) to ask about the state of something. Can take the role of a predicate or an attribute.Examples
你怎么样？
How are you?
nǐ zěnmeyàng
弟弟考试考得怎么样？
How did your brother pass the exam?
dìdi kǎoshì kǎo de zěnmeyàng
他是怎么样的一个医生？
What kind of doctor is he?
tā shì zěnmeyàng de yí ge yīshēng
2) to ask about how to do an action.
Pay attention
In this meaning, 怎么样 is used less regularly, the interrogative pronoun 怎么 is preferred.
Examples
这个词怎么样读？
How do you read this word?
zhè ge cí zěnmeyàng dú
怎么样去好，坐飞机还是坐火车？
Is it better to get there by train or plane?
zěnmeyàng qù hǎo, zuò fēijī háishì zuò huǒchē
怎么样 also can be used to ask “what about...?”, “how about...?”. It should be put at the end of sentences.
Examples
我明天给你打电话，怎么样？
How about I’ll call you tomorrow?
wǒ míngtiān gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà, zěnmeyàng
Sometimes in colloquial speech, 怎么样 can be shortened to 怎样 .
.Examples
他怎样？
How is he?
tā zěnyàng
听写写得怎样？
How was the dictation?
tīngxiě xiě de zěnyàng
哪
The interrogative pronoun 哪 translates as “which one...?” or “which?”.
translates as “which one...?” or “which?”. Pay attention
In a sentence, it should always be followed by a measure word.
Scheme
哪
measure word
object
Examples
狗咬了你的哪根手指？
Which finger did the dog bite?
gǒu yǎo le nǐ de nǎ gēn shǒuzhǐ
他在哪个学校学习汉语？
In which school did you learn Chinese?
tā zài nǎ ge xuéxiào xuéxí hànyǔ
To make the question plural, we should use the measure word 些 .
.Examples
你喜欢哪些中国菜？
What Chinese dishes do you like?
nǐ xǐhuan nǎ xiē zhōngguó cài
With 哪 we can form the pronominal adverbs 哪儿 and 哪里 .
They are placed after the verb 在 or after the motion verbs: 去 , 来 .
and 哪里 .
They are placed after the verb 在 or after the motion verbs: 去 , 来 .
Examples
你在哪里？
Where are you?
nǐ zài nǎlǐ
爸爸去哪儿？
Where did daddy go?
bàba qù nǎr
Where to place interrogative pronouns in a sentence
In English, interrogative pronouns usually come at the beginning of a sentence:
Who is this?
What did you say?
In Chinese, interrogative pronouns can be placed at the beginning, at the end or in the middle of a sentence.
The interrogative pronoun takes the place of the word that the question is asking about.
这是书
这是什么？ — The question word 什么 “what” takes the place of the word 书 “book”.
我有两本书
你有几本书？ — The interrogative pronoun 几 “how many” takes the place of numeral 两 “two”.
这是什么？ — The question word 什么 “what” takes the place of the word 书 “book”.
我有两本书
你有几本书？ — The interrogative pronoun 几 “how many” takes the place of numeral 两 “two”. Pay attention
When we ask a question with a interrogative pronoun we should not add the interrogative particle 吗 to the end of the sentence.
to the end of the sentence.