呢 meaning in English
(sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation still holds
Meaning of 呢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?")
- (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation still holds
- (discourse particle) used to mark a slight pause or emphasis in speech
- dense wool fabric (used for coats and jackets)
How to use 呢
呢 (ne) goes at the end of a sentence. It asks "what about...?", softens a question, or shows that something is still going on. Example: 我很好，你呢？(Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?) I'm fine, and you?
呢 combines 口 (mouth) with 尼 (ní), which gives the sound. Picture a mouth turning back to someone and asking "ne?" to bounce the question to them.
Common mistake: Learners often put 呢 on yes/no questions where 吗 (ma) belongs. Say 你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?) for "Are you busy?" and keep 呢 for follow-up questions or questions that already have a question word, like 你去哪儿呢？
呢 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
呢 ne · used in questions to link back to prior… · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 呢.
| 花呢 | huāní | fancy suiting |
Questions about 呢
What does 呢 mean?
呢 (ne) means "(sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation still holds" and is used as a auxiliary verb.
How do you write 呢?
呢 is made of 1 character: 呢 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 呢 an HSK word?
Yes. 呢 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How does 呢 show that something is still happening?
Put 呢 at the end of a statement to show the situation is ongoing, often with 在 or 还. For example, 他还在睡觉呢 (Tā hái zài shuìjiào ne) means "He is still sleeping."
When is 呢 read as ní instead of ne?
呢 is read ní only in its noun sense of a dense woolen fabric. This appears in words like 花呢 (huāní), fancy suiting. As a particle it is always the neutral tone ne.