吗, 呢 and 吧: Chinese question particles
statement + 吗 / 呢 / 吧
吗 / 呢 / 吧 softens or asks
The word order never changes — a particle at the end does the work. 吗 makes a yes/no question, 呢 asks ‘and what about…?’, 吧 turns it into a suggestion or a guess.
你是学生吗？
Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?
Are you a student?
Seen in these stories
Every sentence below comes from a free graded story you can read in full, with pinyin over each word.
-
服务员:要米饭吗?
Waiter: Would you like rice?
在餐厅 At the Restaurant · HSK 2
-
喂,你好,是小李吗?
Hello, is this Xiao Li?
打电话 Making a Phone Call · HSK 2
-
明天你有空吗?
Are you free tomorrow?
打电话 Making a Phone Call · HSK 2