Chinese word

难道

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán dào

Meaning

  • adverbcould it be that

Example

难道你忘了我们的约定吗？nán dào nǐ wàng le wǒ men de yuē dìng ma

Could it be that you forgot our agreement?

Illustration for 难道 (could it be that)

More examples

难道他不喜欢这本书吗？nán dào tā bù xǐ huān zhè běn shū ma

Could it be that he doesn't like this book?

Core concept

A raised eyebrow inside a question, showing surprise and a strong doubt that the proposed situation is true.

Common phrases

  • 难道...吗nán dào ma

    Could it be that ___?

  • 难道不是nán dào bú shì

    surely not

  • 难道没有nán dào méi yǒu

    could it be that there isn't

Similar words

是不是shì bú shì: Forms a question checking whether something really is the case.
会不会huì bú huì: Forms a question about whether something may happen.

Definition in Chinese

用于构成反问句，表示说话人对某事感到惊讶、怀疑或认为某种情况不成立以加强语气，常见句式为“难道……？”yòng yú gòu chéng fǎn wèn jù biǎo shì shuō huà rén duì mǒu shì gǎn dào jīng yà huái yí huò rèn wéi móu zhǒng qíng kuàng bù chéng lì yǐ jiā qiáng yǔ qì cháng jiàn jù shì wèi nán dào

Word origin

难道 (nándào, "could it be that") developed as a fixed rhetorical-question expression from 难 (nán, "difficult") + 道 (dào, "say"), framing the suggested answer as hard to accept.

Usage tips

  • English questions often sound genuinely open, but this adverb usually carries a strong expectation that the listener will reject the possibility, so tone can make it sound challenging.

Other meanings

  • surely notadverb

Word lists with this word