呢 ne question particle
question particle; what about; ongoing action
How to remember 呢: 口 mouth + 尼 nun = question particle. On the abbey tour a boy opens his mouth shyly, and the nun guiding them smiles when his words end with a question particle.
Component breakdown
呢 = 口 mouth + 尼 nun
- 口 mouth
- 尼 nun
On the abbey tour a boy opens his mouth shyly, and the nun guiding them smiles when his words end with a question particle.
How it came to be
A later character made for speech. The mouth marks a spoken word and the nun lends its sound, ní softened to ne.
How it is used
- Bounces a question back onto the other person - 你呢? (nǐ ne) and you?
- Or marks an ongoing scene - 他在做什么呢? (tā zài zuò shénme ne) what's he up to right now? Unlike 吗, it can't form a plain yes/no question on its own.
Example sentences
- 我很好，你呢？ Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?I am fine - and you?
- 两岸是否会统一呢？ Liǎng'Àn shìfǒu huì tǒngyī ne?Will the mainland and Taiwan be reunified?