Level 1 · Beginner
Question words stay in place
Statement order + 什么 / 谁 / 哪里 · Traditional: Statement order + 什麼 / 誰 / 哪裏
In English, question words jump to the front ("WHAT do you want?"). In Chinese they stay exactly where the answer would go: 你要什么？ is literally "you want what?" Answer: 你要 [茶]。
This means you can build any question by taking the answer sentence and swapping in 什么 (what), 谁 (who), or 哪里 (where).
Examples
这是什么？
這是什麼？
zhè shì shén me
What is this?
他是谁？
他是誰？
tā shì shéi
Who is he?
你去哪里？
你去哪裏？
nǐ qù nǎ lǐ
Where are you going?
你叫什么名字？
你叫什麼名字？
nǐ jiào shén me míng zi
What's your name?
Common mistakes
✗ 什么这是？
✓ 这是什么？
Don't move the question word to the front — leave it where the answer goes.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: What's Your Name? · Lil Jon Orders Lunch — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
