句
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B2 · Grammar reference

Softening the tone of questions with "ne"

We have seen before that 吧 can be used to soften the tone of statements, or make commands feel more like suggestions. 呢 works in same way, but it is used to make questions more indirect and uncertain in tone.

Structure

Option 1 + 呢 + 还是 + Option 2 + 呢?

⋯⋯Interrogative Pronoun⋯⋯ + 呢?

Subj. + Verb 1 + 不 + Verb 1 + (Verb 2) + 呢?

Keywords
呢
Used for
Expressing attitude
Classification
Particles

Examples (12)

我去缅甸呢,还是泰国呢?我得想一想!

咱们打游戏呢,还是泡吧呢,我都可以!

这是谁的笔呢?

他去哪儿了呢?

怎么会呢?

你去不去逛街?

你去不去逛街呢?

牛奶你喝不喝?

牛奶你喝不喝呢?

你周末加不加班?

你周末能不能加班?

你周末能不能加班呢?

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Full explanation at AllSet Learning

Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.

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