吗
你吃饭了吗？
Have you eaten?
A particle used to form yes/no questions in Chinese. It is placed at the end of a statement to turn it into a question.
今天天气怎么样？
How is the weather today?
你会说英语吗？
Can you speak English?
In questions, '吗' is used to seek a yes/no answer. It is not used in questions that require specific information (e.g., 'what', 'where', 'when').
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Question Formation
'吗' is used to turn a statement into a yes/no question. For example, '你累了' (You are tired) becomes '你累了吗？' (Are you tired?).
Gold Rule
No '吗' in WH-Questions
Do not use '吗' in questions that start with 'what', 'where', 'when', etc. For example, '你在哪里？' (Where are you?) is correct, but '你在哪里吗？' is incorrect.
Word Origin
The particle '吗' is derived from the interrogative pronoun '何' (hé) in Classical Chinese, which evolved to indicate a question.
Usage Notes
In formal writing, '吗' is often omitted in questions, but it is essential in spoken Chinese to distinguish a statement from a question.