Level 1 · Beginner
Yes/no questions with 吗
Statement + 吗？ · Traditional: Statement + 嗎？
Add 吗 (ma) to the end of any statement and it becomes a yes/no question — no word order change, no extra verbs. 你是学生 "you are a student" → 你是学生吗？"are you a student?"
Chinese has no words for a bare "yes" or "no". To answer, repeat the verb: 你喝茶吗？ — 喝 ("yes") or 不喝 ("no").
Examples
你是学生吗？
你是學生嗎？
nǐ shì xué sheng ma
Are you a student?
你喝茶吗？
你喝茶嗎？
nǐ hē chá ma
Do you drink tea?
他在家吗？
他在家嗎？
tā zài jiā ma
Is he at home?
你喜欢猫吗？
你喜歡貓嗎？
nǐ xǐ huan māo ma
Do you like cats?
Common mistakes
✗ 你是吗学生？
✓ 你是学生吗？
吗 always goes at the very end of the sentence.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: Lil Jon Gets Ready for the Day · Lil Jon Eats Breakfast · Are You Okay? — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
