▎Answering Questions in Chinese

Affirmative answers can be formed by repeating the main verb in the question, followed by a sentence in the affirmative, e.g.,

1 A：他是不是臺灣人？/他是臺灣人嗎？

Tā shì bú shì Táiwān rén? Tā shì Táiwān rén ma?

Is he Taiwanese?

B：是，他是臺灣人。

Shì, tā shì Táiwān rén.

Yes, he is Taiwanese.

2 A：你喜不喜歡臺灣？/你喜歡臺灣嗎？

Nǐ xǐ bù xǐhuān Táiwān? Nǐ xǐhuān Táiwān ma?

Do you like Taiwan?

B：喜歡，我喜歡臺灣。

Xǐhuān, wǒ xǐhuān Táiwān.

Yes, I like Taiwan.

3 A：王先生是不是日本人？/王先生是日本人嗎？

Wáng xiānshēng shì bú shì Rìběn rén?

Wáng xiānshēng shì Rìběn rén ma?

Is Mr. Wang Japanese?

B：是，王先生是日本人。

Shì, Wáng xiānshēng shì Rìběn rén.

Yes, Mr. Wang is Japanese.

4 A：他喝不喝烏龍茶？/他喝烏龍茶嗎？

Tā hē bù hē Wūlóng chá? Tā hē Wūlóng chá ma?

Does he drink Oolong tea?

B：喝，他喝烏龍茶。

Hē, tā hē Wūlóng chá.

Yes, he drinks Oolong tea.

In Chinese, short answers in the affirmative can be made by simply repeating the verb from the question.

1 你是王先生嗎？／是。

Nǐ shì Wáng xiānshēng ma?／Shì.

Are you Mr. Wang?／Yes.

2 他來不來臺灣？／來。

Tā lái bù lái Táiwān?／Lái.

Will he come to Taiwan?／Yes.

3 他喜歡不喜歡喝茶？／喜歡。

Tā xǐhuān bù xǐhuān hē chá?／Xǐhuān.

Does he like tea?／Yes.

Negative replies can be formed by repeating the main verb in its negative form, i.e., 不＋verb, followed by a sentence in the negative. 不 bù is an adverb which is placed before a verb or another adverb, e.g.,

1 他是不是李先生？／不是，他不是李先生。

Tā shì bú shì Lǐ xiānshēng?／Bú shì, tā bú shì Lǐ xiānshēng.

Is he Mr. Li?／No, he is not Mr. Li.

2 王先生喝茶嗎？／不，他不喝。

Wáng xiānshēng hē chá ma?／Bù, tā bù hē.

Does Mr. Wang drink tea?／No, he doesn’t drink tea.

3 李小姐是不是臺灣人？／不是，李小姐不是臺灣人。

Lǐ xiǎojiě shì bú shì Táiwān rén?／Bú shì. Lǐ xiǎojiě bú shì Táiwān rén.

Is Miss Li Taiwanese?／No, Miss Li is not／Taiwanese.

In Chinese, a brief answer to a question can be formed by repeating the verb in the negative or in the positive.

1 他要不要喝咖啡？／不要。

Tā yào bú yào hē kāfēi?／Bú yào.

Does he want to drink coffee?／No.

2 你喜歡不喜歡喝烏龍茶？／不喜歡。

Nǐ xǐhuān bù xǐhuān hē Wūlóng chá?／Bù xǐhuān

Do you like to drink Oolong tea?／No.

3 陳小姐是不是美國人？／是。

Chén xiǎojiě shì bú shì Měiguó rén?／Shì.

Is Miss Chen American?／Yes.

 

Usage There are some exceptions to the rules above. For example, when the verb is 姓 ‘to be surnamed’ or 叫 ‘to be called’. When the question is 他姓李嗎？Tā xìng Lǐ ma? ‘Is he surnamed Li?’, the negative reply should be 不姓李 Bú xìng Lǐ. ‘(He is) not surnamed Li.’, rather than ＊不姓bú xìng. When the question is 李先生叫開文嗎？Lǐ xiānshēng jiào Kāiwén ma? ‘Is Mr. Li called Kaiwen?’, the negative reply should be 不叫開文Bú jiào Kāiwén. ‘(He is) not called Kaiwen.’, rather than ＊不叫bú jiào.