HSK 2

V不V or A不A

V bùV or A bùA

(questions)

Structure

Subject + Verb/Adjective + 不 + Verb/Adjective (+ Object)?

How it works

This is the 'Affirmative-Negative' structure used to form yes-no questions in Chinese. It presents both the positive and negative forms of a verb or adjective to ask for a choice. When using this structure, the question particle '吗' is never used.

Examples

这件衣服贵不贵？

Zhè jiàn yīfu guì bu guì?

Is this piece of clothing expensive?

你喝不喝咖啡？

Nǐ hē bu hē kāfēi?

Do you drink coffee?

明天的电影你看不看？

Míngtiān de diànyǐng nǐ kàn bu kàn?

Are you going to watch tomorrow's movie?

Common mistakes

Adding '吗' (ma) at the end of the sentence (e.g., '你好不好吗？' is incorrect).

Tip

If the verb has two syllables, like '喜欢' (xǐhuan), you can use '喜不喜欢' or '喜欢不喜欢'.

More HSK 2 grammar

要最几十几几十是不是……？每 M N (都) V 多 A

See V不V or A不A in real Chinese

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