2 · The basic sentence
A-not-A questions
asking with the positive and the negative together
Say the verb, then bù and the verb again, and you have a question without ma.
A second way to ask a yes-no question puts the positive and the negative side by side: verb, 不, verb. 你去不去？ is “are you going?” — literally “you go not go?”. It means the same as 你去吗？ but sounds a little more direct, as if a clear answer is expected. The answer is the same as for a 吗 question: 去 or 不去.
Adjectives and modal verbs work the same way: 贵不贵, 会不会, 是不是. 有 takes 没, as always: 有没有. An object can follow the whole form, 你喝不喝茶？, or stand after the first verb, 你喝茶不喝？
Two things must not be added. An A-not-A question is already a question, so it never takes 吗. And adverbs such as 很, 也 and 都 cannot stand in front of it: “are you also going?” is 你也去吗？, not an A-not-A form. English speakers, used to one way of asking, tend to add 吗 to be safe — which breaks the sentence.
In speech the 不 in the middle is light, almost toneless, and the whole form runs together like one word. This site writes it as one word and leaves the 不 without a tone mark: qùbuqù, shìbushì. For the past, use 没: 你去没去？, “did you go?”, or 你有没有去？.
The form
| verb not verb | 你去不去？ |
| with an object | 你喝不喝咖啡？ |
| adjective not adjective | 这个贵不贵？ |
| shìbushì | 他是不是你哥哥？ |
| yǒuméiyǒu | 你有没有时间？ |
| about the past | 你昨天去没去？ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Repeat the verb or adjective with bù in the middle, and the sentence becomes a question.
你饿不饿？Are you hungry?
Yǒu takes méi: yǒuméiyǒu.
你有没有笔？Have you got a pen?
An A-not-A question never takes ma.
明天你来不来？Are you coming tomorrow?
Hěn, yě and dōu cannot stand before an A-not-A form.
你忙不忙？Are you busy?
With a modal verb, the modal verb is doubled, not the main verb.
你会不会开车？Can you drive?
A closer look
Two-syllable verbs and the object
With a two-syllable verb, careful speech repeats the whole verb: 喜欢不喜欢. In everyday speech only the first syllable is said before 不: 你认不认识他？, “do you know him?”. Both are correct; the short form sounds more natural in conversation.
是不是 is also used to check a guess, either before the part being checked or as a tag at the end: 你累了，是不是？, “you’re tired, aren’t you?”. In this use it is close to English “isn’t it?” or “aren’t you?”.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the question is about the past
use 没 instead of 不, or put 有没有 before the verb.
你有没有给妈妈打电话？Did you ring Mum?
A past event that did not happen is negated with 没, and the question keeps the same negative it would have in the answer.
How to spot it
- 不
- 是不是
- 有没有
Example sentences
你喜欢不喜欢这件衣服？Do you like this top?
这家饭馆的菜好吃不好吃？Is the food good at this restaurant?
你是不是新来的老师？Are you the new teacher?
附近有没有药店？Is there a chemist's nearby?
我能不能用一下你的电话？Could I use your phone for a moment?
你昨天去没去超市？Did you go to the supermarket yesterday?
8 more example sentences
你累不累？Are you tired?
他是不是生病了？Is he ill?
你明天有没有课？Have you got classes tomorrow?
这个汤辣不辣？Is this soup spicy?
你想不想去看电影？Do you want to go and see a film?
我这样写对不对？Have I written this correctly?
你哥哥抽不抽烟？Does your older brother smoke?
明天会不会下雨？Will it rain tomorrow?
Worth knowing (1)
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The light bù in the middle
Listen to a native speaker and the 不 between the two verbs almost disappears: the question runs together into one quick word. That is why the pinyin writes the form as one word and gives the 不 no tone mark. Say it lightly yourself.
你要不要米饭？Do you want rice?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Learners who have just learned 吗 put it on every question. But 去不去 already asks “going or not going?”, and 吗 would ask the same question a second time. Choose one of the two forms.
Verb, bù, verb is already a question: leave out ma.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.