Chinese Conversation · Level 9
90 words
Chinese word
哪
Pronunciation
Pinyinnǎ
Meaning
- pronounwhere
Example
你要去哪？nǐ yào qù nǎ
Where are you going?
More examples
我们在哪里见面？wǒ men zài ná lǐ jiàn miàn
Where will we meet?
Core concept
A question word that points to an unidentified place or selects one possibility from a set.
Common phrases
在哪里zài ná lǐ
where
从哪里来cóng ná lǐ lái
where you come from
哪个nǎ ge
which
Similar words
哪儿nǎr: In informal speech, asks where someone or something is, or where someone is going.
哪里ná lǐ: In writing or southern speech, asks where someone or something is, or where someone is going.
Definition in Chinese
用于询问地点或去向，表示想知道某处在哪里，常与方位词或动词连用，如“去哪儿”“到哪里”，与量词连用时构成“哪个”表示选择。yòng yú xún wèn dì diǎn huò qù xiàng biǎo shì xiǎng zhī dào mǒu chù zài ná lǐ cháng yǔ fāng wèi cí huò dòng cí lián yòng rú qù nǎr dào ná lǐ yǔ liàng cí lián yòng shí gòu chéng nǎ ge biǎo shì xuǎn zé
Word origin
哪 (nǎ, "where/which") is formed from 口 (kǒu, "mouth") + 那 (nà, "that"), with 口 marking a spoken question and 那 mainly supplying the sound.
Usage tips
- A movement verb can come before this question word, matching the order of a normal destination phrase and making the missing destination easy to spot.