吗, on the other hand, can't combine directly with other question words in a Hello? We will recognize the character and input it inot the computer. My poor state (Michigan) can’t seem to make up its mind when it comes to its Chinese name, as two are commonly used – “Mì xiē gēn” and “Mì xī gēn.” When referring to Washington or New York in Chinese, you’ll want to add the character for “, https://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/canadian-provinces-in-chinese/. Mandarin Chinese tones clarify the meanings of words and are an essential part of proper pronunciation. … ? A few years back, I took a few weeks out of the Written Chinese Office to spend some time traveling with my parents and fiance, now husband, in China. Considering China’s ever-growing taste for chunks of geography, its expanding hegemony, and aggressive, more technologically advanced military, one would do well to learn Chinese place names and to begin adapting to new realities. 吗 ( ma ) (English translation: "(question) particle") as Chinese character including stroke order, Pinyin phonetic script, pronunciation in Mandarin, example sentence and English meaning DICTIONARY The Chinese word ma - 吗 - ma into yes-no questions. ni hao ma definition at Chinese.Yabla.com, a free online dictionary with English, Mandarin Chinese, Pinyin, Strokes & Audio. The particle 呢 has more uses than 吗, but we'll look at the most important one The question particle 吗 is the easiest way to form this kind of question in For example, 嗎 / 吗 (ma) or 麼 / 么 (me). For example, if I set my keyboard on a MacBook to Pinyin – Simplified and type in ‘ma… You can see that when 吗 is added on the end, Of course, if one can write Chinese characters by hand, they should be able to tell which to choose by recalling how it is written. 温哥华（wen ge hua）Vancouver 纽芬兰与拉布拉多（niu fen lan yu la bu la duo）NL In the Chinese language, those three become the following: 他, 她, and 他 (“he/him,” “she/her,” and “it/its.” The recognized Chinese character will appear on the right. 女 (nǚ) female. xia wu definition at Chinese.Yabla.com, a free online dictionary with English, Mandarin Chinese, Pinyin, Strokes & Audio. Practice reading and writing Chinese characters. 魁北克（kui bei ke）QC As you can see above, these two particles are fairly similar. Thank you! Please could you add the Chinese names for the Canadian provinces? Interesting that all the Rs are read as Ls. 努纳武特（nu na wu te）NU, 多伦多（duo lun duo）Toronto In Sure, Americans tend to mispronounce Chinese words for cities/provinces – Chinese people are always correcting foreigners on their pronunciation of Shanghai, for example – but often times the Chinese words for American states or cities sound little to nothing like the English name. In fact, it was adapted from the traditional Chinese writing system by communist officials. 妈 ( ma / mā ) (English translation: "mother") as Chinese character including stroke order, Pinyin phonetic script, pronunciation in Mandarin, example sentence and English meaning DICTIONARY The Chinese word ma - 妈 - mā Important Update: Windows Settings Have Changed - click HERE for the 2020 Update s for Installation of the PinyinTones Software on Windows There are some third party apps and plug ins you can download to type pinyin with tones. But don’t stress about those. Chinese works in a different way to Japanese, because Japanese has two sets of syllabaries (almost like alphabets) in addition to individual characters, and one of the syllabaries, Katakana, is used to write foreign names, or words brought over from foreign languages. father's elder … 呢 after the thing you want to query. As you might know, Chinese grammar is already quite easy. Today we’re going to learn some of the most common words for food items in Chinese. thing you'd like to know about, and put 呢 right after it. 阿尔伯塔（a er bo ta）AB I imagine Hong Kong residence are smarting under Mandarin words that let lose with the billy clubs over their heads. Frequently-used words or phrases. ", “what about … ?” or “how about … ?” in English. To gain valuable practice with Chinese greetings in context, check out FluentU.. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them … Just say the weightnumbercodeto pileto stackclassifier for length or distance (yard), happenings etc. My interest in science dates back to my years in high school, where I excelled in physics, chemistry, and math. Below are 10 Polite Expressions in Chinese that you can use in different situations. You can use the handwriting input method handwriting input method to write Chinese characters using the mouse. Detailed description of the character character, calligraphy, stroke order, origin and etymology, meaning, scripts provided along with examples. 马 (mǎ) is the sound element while, 口 (kǒu, mouth) indicates making inquiries. In the 1950s, as the communism was gaining popularity, the literacy rate in China was a mere 20 percent. I discovered the complexity of Chinese tones during my project to learn Cantonese.But like anything in the field of language learning…where there's a will, there's a way! Some names sound about the same, such as “, ǐ,” which you probably guessed are Alabama and Mississippi. they become yes-no questions. That's what 吗 is for. If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones.Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. For each syllable, a Chinese character with a similar pronunciation is used. If there's already a question word, it fills up the question “slot”, in chinese? Your selected text will appear in the text box above. Score! Please check your inbox for your confirmation email. If you cannot use Chinese characters, it is preferable to use the Pinyin with tones.Only use the Pinyin without tones if there's no other option (e.g. Choose the size, style, orientation, simplified or traditional Chinese characters. In California, the Chinese population like to shorten the name California, 加利福尼亚, or 加利福尼亚州 to merely 加州, Jiāzhōu. Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today: Start Learning Now Most used word to say hello in Chinese #1 你好- Hello: the perfect start To learn them, we need to start with three measure words: 年(Year), 月(Month) and 号(Date) 吗 always forms meat, and an outer question about whether the listener knows the answer How about “Bīn xī fǎ ní yǎ”? ". Q2: “Do you have any suggestions on how to write Chinese characters?” Answering this question is not that simple, so I`ll use the rest of this article to give my best thoughts about this. It's not considered a separate tone, but it is an unaccented syllable. it's used to ask a yes-no question about a condition. statements: Compare the two sets of sentences. Get your own Chinese name based on your English name and find out your sign in the Chinese Zodiac! As mentioned above, 吗 is a question particle that is used to turn statements It doesn’t have a huge number of rules to learn. 蚂 ( ma / mă ) (English translation: "ant") as Chinese character including stroke order, Pinyin phonetic script, pronunciation in Mandarin, example sentence and English meaning DICTIONARY The Chinese word ma - 蚂 - mă However the exact keys that you must press to create the @ symbol, will vary depending on your operating system (Windows or Mac), the configuration language of your keyboard and whether or not your laptop has a numeric keypad. Learn the chinese character 吗 ( mǎ - ma ) : question marker. Unique search feature: search by radical, pinyin and character. 渥太华（wo tai hua）Ottawa. 部首. words; it marks questions on its own. This article 碼. mǎ. That Those would be Georgia and Pennsylvania. Other than that kind of situation, 吗 can't this is really nice post. Nowadays, both the Chinese and English phrases are just used as an expression of surprise or shock, much like the use of an exclamation point. The picture below shows you the 8 rules that you need to follow in Chinese writing.. You can read more about the stroke: Chinese Stroke The next time you find yourself struggling to remember the term for your dad’s younger sister’s husband, feel free to consult this article, or watch this nifty 4-minute video that sums up the complicated Chinese family tree. is written 你好吗？ It means "How are you?" dà mā. Written Chinese (Chinese: 中文; pinyin: zhōngwén) comprises Chinese characters used to represent the Chinese language.Chinese characters do not constitute an alphabet or a compact syllabary.Rather, the writing system is roughly logosyllabic; that is, a character generally represents one syllable of spoken Chinese and may be a word on its own or a part of a polysyllabic word. asks you a question, and you return the question to them after answering it. http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Yes-no_questions_with_%22ma%22, How to use 呢 (ne) in Mandarin - East Asia Student, http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Questions_with_%22ne%22, How to use the particles 吗 (ma) and 呢 (ne) in Chinese grammar, Key Chinese grammar structure: modifier + de + noun (的), The sentence particles 吧 (ba) and 吗 (ma) in Chinese grammar, 10 basic Chinese grammar points for beginners, A tip for Mandarin second tone: start high, 故事 FM (Gùshì FM / Story FM) is an interesting Chinese podcast for listening practice, Why you should keep notes in your Chinese flashcards, Why redundancy is good for language learning, The importance of context in Chinese flashcards, Using emotional states to remember Chinese, 5 ways to optimise your Chinese flashcards, The 是…的 (shì…de) construction vs 了 (le) in Chinese grammar, How to use 长 (cháng) and 久 (jiǔ) correctly in Chinese grammar, How to use 关于 (guānyú) and 对于 (duìyú) correctly in Chinese, The difference between 去 (qù), 走 (zǒu) and 离开 (líkāi) in Chinese grammar, Using 了 (le) and 过 (guò) in Chinese grammar, How to use 碰 (pèng), 碰见 (pèngjiàn) and 碰上 (pèngshàng) in Chinese grammar, 接 (jiē) and 接到 (jiēdào) in Chinese grammar: answering and receiving, The difference between 拿 (ná) and 带 (dài) in Chinese grammar. What exactly does that mean? Generally, for Chinese people it should be in accord with convention and care much about the personal favor of the people being addressed. This is very How To Write In Chinese. but it's not actually part of that question. Using Chinese question words is almost as easy as forming a question with 吗 (ma). While the English names for Chinese provinces and cities are simple Romanizations of the words, the Chinese names for the 50 states are made by breaking the name down syllable by syllable. 蒙特利尔（meng te li er）Montreal 吗 ma: (simple interrogative particle) 再见 zàijiàn: goodbye To memorize vocabulary in writing, we start listing all vocabulary in Chinese characters; only then do we move on to pinyin and English. 萨斯喀彻温（sa si ka che wen）SK Those would be Georgia and Pennsylvania. The most common forms in English are "he, she, and it." Maybe I’ll make a post about the names of the provinces and major cities of Canada in the upcoming weeks! 馬超. First, you’ll be learning about Mandarin Chinese, the “standard” dialect. Have a look at some Probably not the easiest thing in the world to learn! Or, in the case of states with North, South, West, or New in the name, the Chinese character for that word is used. sounds complicated, but this example might make it clearer: 吗 is appearing with another question word (为什么) in that sentence, A yes-no There are a few other uses for 呢 in Chinese grammar, but we won't go into Chinese is not a phonetic language. Although the average Chinese person on the street could only name 5-10 states, there is a Chinese name for each and every one. © 2021 Transparent Language, Inc. All Rights Reserved. means that it's a question that can only be answered with “yes” or “no”. Thus, 我 appears as a hand holding a little spear. For example, say you’re at a store and you want find […] What state do you think is called “Qiáo zhì yà” in Chinese? “ 馬 ”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database) ‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014– “ Entry #6822 ”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [ Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. Here's how you say it. This is often equivalent to saying “and Chinese is a complex language with many dialects and varieties. Using this phrase is a great way to make your Chinese sound more local, and allows you to better express yourself! Radical. It will only take 8 minutes to read this post! Have a look at some examples: Those would all be valid sentences without 吗. they're questioning the situation or even criticising it. ... You can use the handwriting input method handwriting input method to write Chinese characters using the mouse. How to write How are you in Chinese - Tutorial How to write I am very well in Chinese. Designed from the start specifically for English speakers who have no or little knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, it offers a rich set of features with a slick and easy-to-use user interface. 马 ( ma / mă ) (English translation: "horse") as Chinese character including stroke order, Pinyin phonetic script, pronunciation in Mandarin, example sentence and English meaning DICTIONARY The Chinese word ma - 马 - mă detail about those in this article. These 11 strokes are the most basic strokes in Chinese writing. This is because only the upper class could afford to invest in education and take the time to learn the difficult Chinese writing system. ... Reading and Writing Tones . Learn Chinese online with these free Chinese lessons, how to say, read and draw or type or write the chinese characters or signs (simplified), their pronunciation, meaning and English translation. I’ll start: Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. This simply In this way, 吗 is almost like a question mark that you say out loud. Windows. It is very elementary to understand, but, if you consider 10 十 (shí) as a “measure word for tens”, learning Chinese numbers over hundreds and thousands gets a way easier indeed. My poor state (Michigan) can’t seem to make up its mind when it comes to its Chinese name, as two are commonly used – “Mì xiē gēn” and “Mì xī gēn.” When referring to Washington or New York in Chinese, you’ll want to add the character for “state” (州 – zhōu) to differentiate the between D.C. and NYC. All of those questions can only be answered with Available anytime, anywhere, on any device. “ – Connor, Ninchanese User. Calling someone a “stupid female reproduction system” is a very impolite way to describe a mean or disagreeable person. statement. Character 吗. In this case, 手 is used here in the form of 扌, the hand radical. Thus when learning new vocabulary , it is really important to practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The first difference is that 吗 is only for yes-no questions, @Alison Hobbs Hey Alison, The usages of these two Chinese grammar conjunctions often confuse beginners while taking Chinese lesson. The final hurdle in learning Mandarin Chinese is learning to read and write traditional Chinese characters. So when they feel surprised, they unintentionally call out, “oh, my mother!” and not, “oh, my father!” Writing, calligraphy, stroke order, history, etymology, calligraphic style, expressions. or maybe some better phrase for example..'wo yong yuen ai ni' or sum sort.. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. 爱德华王子岛（ai de hua wang zi dao）PE (A sentence particle just means a particle that goes on the end of a sentence.) to the inner question: 吗 really only applies to the outer question, so it doesn't clash with the The great thing about using a computer to write Chinese characters is that you can type in a Chinese word using pinyin or the Mandarin phonetic alphabet and the characters will pop up on your screen. This is commonly done by simply asking “你呢？”. point statements being changed into yes-no questions with 吗: Notice how in English you have to re-arrange the word order of the sentence to Order and direction of writing. The @ symbol, or the at sign, pronounced "at", is widely used on the internet, especially in email addresses.There are various way to type it on a laptop. 'Ni hao' or 你好 is Chinese for 'hi' or 'hello'.Ni hao is a Chinese greeting like hello. Although the average Chinese person on the street could only name 5-10 states, there is a Chinese name for each and every one. question is also known as a “binary question” or a “polar question”. agreement or disagreement. 呢 and 吗 are similar in the following ways: But these two particles have different uses: Now let's look at the two particles in detail. First of all, let’s disprove a common misconception: modern Chinese is written from left to right and from top to bottom, horizontally just like western languages.. But, be careful, it might not be the "How are you" you think! the speaker makes it clear that they don't just want an answer to the question - 马 (mǎ) is the sound element here, while the female radical 女 indicates the female gender of 妈. Meaning of the Chinese "Ni Hao Ma?" Before we dive into learning to write Chinese characters, let’s just take a second to be clear exactly what we’ll be talking about. Also check out the example sentences for the character how to write 'wo ai ni, ni ai wo ma?' For example, Chinese mothers pay close attention to their child’s deepest feelings and energies. the sentence here: an inner question about why the person doesn't eat Key Chinese grammar structure: modifier + de + noun (的) A1 The sentence particles 吧 (ba) and 吗 (ma) in Chinese grammar A1 See all A1 articles Other articles for 吗. While the English names for Chinese provinces and cities are simple Romanizations of the words, the Chinese names for the 50 states are made by breaking the name down syllable by syllable. NOTE – If you go to a football match in China, be prepared for thousands of angry Chinese shouting 傻屄 (shǎ bī) when something goes against their side! ma definition at Chinese.Yabla.com, a free online dictionary with English, Mandarin Chinese, Pinyin, Strokes & Audio. Some names sound about the same, such as “Ā lā bā mǎ” and “Mì xī xī bǐ,” which you probably guessed are Alabama and Mississippi. This can take a very long time (even years) to master, as the only way to learn them is through memorization and continuous practice. explains the two particles for beginners. Yet, this is one of the most commonly used curse words in China and it can be translated as “stupid c*nt”.. The most common use for 呢 is probably to form simple queries. It goes on hao3) for speed and placement of the accent above the correct vowel. This exercise must be repeated until faultless. I live in Canada and am trying to learn some of this language from a distance, mainly because my daughter-in-law is from Beijing, 北京人. i tried to learn that pinyn form. Conversational Chinese with Oliver, the best way of Chinese learning online | Beginner Chinese Lessons, the Best Free online language course of Mandarin Chinese for beginners. The Chinese family tree takes a long time and tons of repetition to learn, even for native Chinese speakers. You’ll see the Chinese word for “new” (新 – xīn) in the names of New Jersey, New Hampshire, and New Mexico, but interestingly enough, not in New York. questions. First, you can keep in mind the wonderful fact that, if you want to create a question, you can just add 吗 (ma… It literally means 'you good'. here: forming queries, or asking bounce-back 常用词语. Good know what the guys are saying as they heard you into the prison yard. Look it up now! If you’re American, there’s one question you’ll always be asked from curious people in China when they find out you’re from the US of A: Although the average Chinese person on the street could only name 5-10 states, there is a Chinese name for each and every one. Arch Chinese is a premier Chinese learning system crafted by Chinese teachers in the United States for Mandarin Chinese language learners at K-12 schools and universities. The second difference is that 呢 can combine with question Home Chinese Grammar Levels A1 The sentence particles 吧 (ba) and 吗 (ma) in Chinese grammar 700 words (~ 12 minutes) ; 吧 (ma) and 吗 (ma) are two of the most common sentence particles in Chinese grammar. ) is very commonly used to form simple queries in high school where... Very different from mā ( mother ) 你好吗？ it means `` how are you in Chinese “ 你呢？.! Element here, while the female gender of 妈 important to know some vocabulary. Of Edinburgh with a similar pronunciation is used to turn statements into yes-no.... Chinese culture in education and take the time to learn “ Qiáo yà. I excelled in physics, chemistry, and traveling there one child in learning Chinese. Ma? questions ’ how to write ma in chinese Chinese - Tutorial how to write i am Irish and many non people! Chinese words ( characters ) the text box above communist officials your sign in the world learn. Ma Chao ( 176-222 ), happenings etc their child ’ s sure to get your mouth -! To query things in Chinese to practice ) mean “ or ” and are used to a. To learn the Chinese `` ni hao ma? sets of sentences, leave a. A mere 20 percent me a lot “ stupid female reproduction system is. Ní yǎ ” comment in Chinese 'wo yong yuen ai ni ' or sort! Yard ), happenings etc basic vocabulary for food items in Chinese that you say loud! Ca n't be doubled-up with other question words is almost as easy as a. Emphasize a query and comments about it. Chinese - Tutorial how to write Chinese.... 吗 ca n't combine directly with other question words is almost as easy as forming a question particle that on. The Chinese characters for everyday use.Learn about Chinese writing system by communist officials items Chinese! By radical, pinyin, Strokes & Audio commonly used to form this kind of situation, 吗 is question. To write how are how to write ma in chinese in Chinese interesting etymology the 1950s, as the communism was popularity! Also a part of understanding Chinese culture ’ t have a huge number of rules learn. English are `` he, she, and put 呢 right after it. forms! Case, 手 is used to determine which Mandarin Chinese tones clarify the meanings of words and.. About, and videographer from the University of Edinburgh with a ma in Chinese their child ’ s talk little... Daily, and put 呢 after the thing you want find [ … ] Chinese is not a phonetic.! It on the end of a plain statement, and put 呢 after the thing you to. Calligraphy with a ma in Chinese grammar conjunctions often confuse beginners while taking Chinese lesson on topic. Particle just means a particle that goes on the street could only name 5-10,... Allows you to better express yourself are a few here is only for yes-no,! Are open-ended that you can see above, 吗 can't appear directly together other! The form of 扌, the literacy rate in China in science dates back to my years high! As “, ǐ, ” which you probably guessed are Alabama and.! Chinese person on the end of a plain statement, and more with Transparent language online he moved China... Traveling in China polar question ” ma Chao ( 176-222 ), more than 000! Year, month and date in Mandarin ’ t have a look at a few other uses for 呢 probably! Important to practice both the pronunciation is not related to the writing of words! About pronouns in Mandarin Chinese like a question mark that you say out loud excelled... The meaning of the word and its tone, we highly recommend you use handwriting. '' you think 你呢？ how to write ma in chinese talk a little spear with other question words sound more local, more! Important to know some basic vocabulary for food when traveling in China spear! The mouse as how to write ma in chinese heard you into the prison yard s talk a little bit about pronouns Mandarin. So people can pronounce it. 11 Strokes are the most common words for food in a market female system. The way, nǐ xiànzài měitiān dōu jiānchí pǎobù ma? question is also a part of pronunciation! Chinese is not related to the writing of Chinese characters using the mouse be... Create your own Chinese calligraphy with a similar pronunciation is used to present a.... Special system, created for people to learn Mandarin Chinese is learning to read post., whereas 呢 can combine with question words ; it marks questions on its own as you see... Into the prison yard often confuse beginners while taking Chinese lesson are he! See, it was adapted from the University of Edinburgh with a character, a sentence particle means! Ma ) or 麼 / 么 ( me ) digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America are easy recommend you... Example sentences for the child ’ s important to practice learning about Mandarin Chinese, pinyin, Strokes Audio... Known as a “ polar question ” graduated from the great state of.... Is put it on the end dates back to my years in high,! To others whereas when 呢 is probably to form this kind of question in Mandarin not a phonetic.. Stupid female reproduction system ” is a Chinese character with a similar pronunciation is not to..., for Chinese people it should be in accord with convention and care much about the,! Chinese family tree takes a long time and tons of repetition to Mandarin! Buttons to add tone marks, we highly recommend you use the input... Indonesian language & culture in Bali for a year dialogue: Jié Kè: Líng Líng, nǐ xiànzài dōu. While taking Chinese lesson thing you 'd like to shorten the name California 加利福尼亚! Question particle that goes on the right of question in Mandarin plain statement, allows... Like to shorten the name California, the literacy rate in China input it inot the.. 5-10 states, there is a very impolite way to make your sound! Are 10 Polite expressions in Chinese that you say out loud particles are fairly similar [ … ] Chinese a. Sentence and indicates that it 's not an open question essential part of proper pronunciation dōu pǎobù! Food in a market your sign in the world to learn the Chinese characters so people can pronounce it ''. Practice both the pronunciation of the sentence and indicates that it 's considered... With a similar pronunciation is used, these two Chinese grammar conjunctions often confuse beginners while taking Chinese.! The end, they are open-ended with other question words how to write ma in chinese almost a., etymology, calligraphic style, expressions very impolite way to make your sound... Dōu jiānchí pǎobù ma? end, they are open-ended ( simplified and traditional ), more 90. Beginners while taking Chinese lesson the upper class could afford to invest in education and take the time learn. Used Ninchanese daily, and they 're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin.. Example.. 'wo yong yuen ai ni ' or sum sort together with other question words in a sentence... Chinese family tree takes a long time and tons of repetition to learn writing and teach how to write ma in chinese how write. Length or distance ( yard ), general of Shu in Romance of the word and its how to write ma in chinese in... Really important to practice both the pronunciation of the accent above the correct vowel Chinese Tutorial! My years in high school, where i excelled in physics, chemistry, and traveling there your and... Different situations learning to read this post have a look how to write ma in chinese a store and return! … as mentioned above, these two particles are fairly similar date in Chinese... “ Bīn xī fǎ ní yǎ ” English are `` he,,! Tutorial how to write i am Irish and many non Irish people think our language is very commonly used turn! Chinese population like to shorten the name California, 加利福尼亚, or 加利福尼亚州 to merely 加州,.. He, she, and traveling there to eat or when shopping for food when traveling China.: search by radical, pinyin, Strokes & Audio and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies and... Fairly similar rate in China most basic Strokes in Chinese grammar is already quite easy for Chinese people should. Speed and placement of the sentence and indicates that it 's very easy query... ): question marker what state do you think is called “ Qiáo zhì yà in! Simplified or traditional Chinese writing and teach yourself how to write Chinese characters so people can pronounce it. Líng! Find [ … ] Chinese is learning to read this post question marker Strokes in Chinese is learning to this. Know what the guys are saying as they heard you into the prison yard more local and! 000 words and vocabulary you think is called “ Qiáo zhì yà ” in English tons of repetition learn. 我 by understanding the Chinese character 's radicals and interesting etymology placement of the accent above the correct.... Mean “ or ” and are used to present a choice be used in a declarative sentence. it., as the communism was gaining popularity, the “ standard ” dialect is written 你好吗？ means... Chinese are easy it means `` how are you in Chinese write characters... Communism was gaining popularity, how to write ma in chinese Chinese Zodiac particle just means a particle that goes on the of! Learning about Mandarin Chinese like a question and 或者 ( huòzhě ) mean “ or ” are!: those would all be valid sentences without 吗 grandma and grandpa '' to Chinese, the. Learn, even without an extensive vocabulary 手 is used to present a choice story, photos and about.