吗

• Pinyin: ma
• Hanzi breakdown: 吗 = 口 (mouth, semantic) + 马 (horse, phonetic)

Meaning

Question particle placed at the end of a statement to turn it into a yes/no question.

The most basic and essential question particle in Mandarin. Simply append 吗 to any declarative sentence to form a yes/no question. It carries a neutral tone and is one of the first grammar points taught to beginners.

Examples

1. 你是中国人吗？ Are you Chinese?
2. 今天你忙吗？ Are you busy today?
3. 你喜欢吃苹果吗？ Do you like eating apples?

Usage Guide

Context: grammar, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你是学生吗？(Are you a student?)
• 他来了吗？(Has he arrived?)

Don't Say

• 你去哪里吗？(Don't use 吗 with question words like 哪里 — the sentence is already a question; just say 你去哪里？)

Origin & History

A grammatical particle that developed in spoken Chinese. The character uses 口 (mouth) as the semantic component and 马 (horse) as the phonetic component.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal