Chinese Particle Words 吗 and 呢 - Difference

The Chinese particles 呢 (ne) and 吗 (ma) are very commonly used in both written and spoken Chinese. How do we use them in Chinese? Now let’s check out the similarities and differences between the particle words 呢 (ne) and 吗 (ma).

Similarities

•      Both 吗 and 呢 are used at the end of a sentence.

•      Both 吗 and 呢can be used to form questions.

•      Both of them are pronounced in neutral tone.

 

Differences

•      吗 is used to turn statements into yes-no questions.

For example:

zhè shì tú shū ɡuǎn

这是图书馆。

This is a library.

zhè shì tú shū ɡuǎn mɑ？

这是图书馆吗？

Is this a library?

Another example can be found in the newbie Chinese podcast lesson from iChinesePodcast, a free website for beginners to learn Chinese with free audios.

 

•      呢 is mostly used to turn statements into queries.

For example:

fànɡjià le, nǐ wèishénme bù chqu wán’ér ne？

放假 了，你 为什么 不 出去 玩儿 呢？

It’s holiday time. Why not go out for fun?

wǒ jiào lǐqiánɡ, nǐne？

我 叫 李强，你呢？

My name is Li Qiang. What about you?