吗嗎 ma — question particle (yes/no questions)
ma (neutral tone)ma5
Traditional: 嗎
question particle (yes/no questions)
HSK 1· HSK 1–4 (classic)Level 1· Three-band, nine-level standardparticle
Meanings
question particle (yes/no questions)
Added at the end of a statement, it turns it into a yes/no question with no change of word order: 你是学生 → 你是学生吗？
particle
Example sentences
- 你是学生吗？你是學生嗎？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) shì (fourth tone, falling) xuésheng (second tone, rising) ma? (neutral tone)···
Are you a student?
- 你想喝一杯茶吗？你想喝一杯茶嗎？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) xiǎng (third tone, dipping) hē (first tone, high and level) yì (fourth tone, falling) bēi (first tone, high and level) chá (second tone, rising) ma? (neutral tone)···
Would you like a cup of tea?
Common mistakes
Not quite你叫什么名字吗？
Correct你叫什么名字？
吗 belongs only to yes/no questions. A sentence that already contains 什么, 谁, 哪儿 or 几 is a question, and adding 吗 makes it ungrammatical.