Chinese question words have one rule that makes them easy: they sit where the answer would sit. No inversion, no "do". 你买什么？ is literally "you buy what?" - replace 什么 with 苹果 and you have the answer.
The set
| Word | Asks | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 什么 shénme | what | 你说什么？ |
| 谁 shéi/shuí | who | 他是谁？ |
| 哪 nǎ | which | 你要哪一本？ |
| 哪里/哪儿 | where | 洗手间在哪儿？ |
| 什么时候 | when | 你什么时候来？ |
| 怎么 zěnme | how | 这个字怎么写？ |
| 为什么 | why | 你为什么学中文？ |
| 几 jǐ | how many (small) | 你有几个孩子？ |
| 多少 duōshǎo | how many/much | 这个多少钱？ |
几 vs 多少 trips people: 几 expects a small countable answer (and takes a measure word - 几个人）, 多少 is open-ended and needs none (多少人？).
Two question shapes with no question word
- 吗 questions: statement + 吗 turns any assertion into yes/no: 你去 → 你去吗？.
- Verb-not-verb: 你去不去？ 他是不是老师？ - neutral, slightly more pressing than 吗.
The polite layer
呢 after a topic means "and ...?" - 我很好，你呢？ For softening, 吧 suggests (我们走吧), 啊 softens force. These live at the sentence edge and the particles guide goes deeper.
Answering them
Because the question word sits in the answer's slot, replies mirror the question exactly: 你住在哪里？ → 我住在台北. Drill the pattern by question-answer pairs, not isolated words - every question word on this page doubles as its own answer frame. The one asymmetry to memorize: subject questions can drop the subject marker entirely - 谁来了？ ("who came?") needs no rearranging at all.
Common questions
How do you ask questions in Chinese?
Question words stay in the answer's position - 你买什么? For yes/no questions add 吗 or use verb-not-verb. Word order never changes.
What is the difference between 几 and 多少?
几 is for small countable numbers and needs a measure word (几个人); 多少 is open-ended, for large or uncountable quantities, and takes none.
Does Chinese have a word for yes and no?
Not exactly - you echo the verb: 你去吗？ → 去 / 不去. 是 and 对 confirm facts, 好 confirms suggestions. See the yes/no guide.