How to use the modal particle 呢 (ne) in Mandarin Chinese?

Imagine you arrive at class or work one morning and your friend asks if you’re going to the volleyball game this Saturday: 这个星期六你要去看排球赛吗?  (zhège xīngqī liù nǐ yào qù kàn páiqiú sài ma?). You’re definitely going; you’ve been looking forward to it all week. You reply: 当然! 你呢? (dāngrán! nǐ ne?, Of course! And you?).

This way of turning the question back on the questioner is one of the main functions among others of the particle 呢 (ne). In this post, we will take you on a journey to look at the particular uses of this highly functional character. Let’s go!

Particles are words that are added to another word, phrase, or at the end of a sentenceNo definition set for sentenceLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. to indicate different supplementary meanings, grammatical relations, or moods. In Chinese, particles are called 助词 (zhù cí). Literally, these are “helping words.” They do not have any certain meaning themselves and cannot be used alone. There are structural particles, aspectual particles, and modal particles. Modal particles change the mood of a sentence.

To ask “what about…?”, “how about…?” or the “...and you?” kind of question that we saw at the beginning of this post, the particle 呢 (ne) is placed at the end of the sentence. The pattern is:

You'll occasionally hear someone using 呢 (ne) with little or no context. When this happens, they're usually asking “where” (在哪儿 (zài nǎr)) someone or something is. The speaker may be asking rhetorically (as in, “Now where did I put my keys?”).

The pattern is:

A statement followed by 呢 (ne) is used when trying to sound more confident and convincing to someone else. We use this pattern:

You may have read that 正在 (zhèngzài) and 在 (zài) can be used before verbsNo definition set for verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. to express that an action is ongoing or in progress. They are used to create the Mandarin equivalent of present progressive (or continuous) tense in English. But that pattern can be used with a less formal and shorter pattern adding 呢 (ne) in the end of the sentence.

呢 (ne) is used to present options, advice, and suggestions in a polite or friendly way.

呢 (ne) is a very common and very useful word. Start using it at every opportunity you have, from offering tea (你喝不喝茶呢? (nǐ hē bù hē chá ne?, Would you like to have some tea?)) to asking when it will be your turn to do something: 什么时候到我呢? (shénme shíhòu dào wǒ ne?, When will it be my turn?))

Check out our activities for more practice! 现在就行动吧！ (xiànzài jiù xíngdòng ba!, Let’s do it!)