Questions with 呢

呢 (ne) asks and …? / what about …? after something has already been said.

It is not the same as 吗. 吗 (ma) asks yes or no. 呢 points back at another person or thing.

呢 lets you bounce a question back at someone without repeating your whole sentence, a shortcut you will use in almost every conversation.

Structure

Statement。 Subject + 呢？

我喜欢茶。你呢？ (Wǒ xǐhuan chá. Nǐ ne?) I like tea. And you?

Noun / Pronoun + 呢？

你呢？ 她呢？ (Nǐ ne? Tā ne?) What about you? What about her?

Examples

我喜欢茶。你呢？ Wǒ xǐhuan chá. Nǐ ne?

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 喜欢 (like) · 茶 (tea) · 你呢 (and you?)

→ I like tea. And you?

他喝水。她呢？ Tā hē shuǐ. Tā ne?

Breakdown: 他 (he) · 喝 (drink) · 水 (water) · 她呢 (what about her?)

→ He drinks water. What about her?

我哥哥喜欢茶。姐姐呢？ Wǒ gēge xǐhuan chá. Jiějie ne?

Breakdown: 我哥哥 (my older brother) · 喜欢 (like) · 茶 (tea) · 姐姐呢 (what about older sister?)

→ My older brother likes tea. What about older sister?

我喜欢茶。水呢？ Wǒ xǐhuan chá. Shuǐ ne?

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 喜欢 (like) · 茶 (tea) · 水呢 (what about water?)

→ I like tea. What about water?

弟弟喜欢米饭。妹妹呢？ Dìdi xǐhuan mǐfàn. Mèimei ne?

Breakdown: 弟弟 (younger brother) · 喜欢 (like) · 米饭 (rice) · 妹妹呢 (what about younger sister?)

→ Younger brother likes rice. What about younger sister?

他是我朋友。她呢？ Tā shì wǒ péngyou. Tā ne?

Breakdown: 他 (he) · 是 (am/is/are) · 我朋友 (my friend) · 她呢 (what about her?)

→ He is my friend. What about her?

我是学生。我同学呢？ Wǒ shì xuésheng. Wǒ tóngxué ne?

Breakdown: 我 (I) · 是 (am/is/are) · 学生 (student) · 我同学呢 (what about my classmate?)

→ I am a student. What about my classmate?

Common Mistakes

Using 呢 instead of 吗

- Incorrect: 你喜欢茶呢？ (Nǐ xǐhuan chá ne?) - Correct: 你喜欢茶吗？ (Nǐ xǐhuan chá ma?) — Do you like tea?

Putting 呢 first

- Incorrect: 呢你？ (Ne nǐ?) - Correct: 你呢？ (Nǐ ne?) — And you?

What Can You Say Now?

You can now toss a quick follow-up question back at someone instead of building a whole new sentence — say 我喜欢茶，你呢？ (I like tea, what about you?) instead of asking a full separate question. Try it the next time someone tells you what they like or do: reply with just 你呢？

Quick Summary

你呢？ = And you? / What about you?