Rhetorical questions in Chinese

Rhetorical questions – are a linguistic figure that consists in posing a question that doesn’t represent an actual request for information, but implies a sort of predetermined response. A linguistic figure that isn’t lacking in any language and whose importance is unequivocal.

In fact, as Umberto Eco ironically asked: “is there really a need for rhetorical questions?”

It’s clearly a rhetorical questions since we absolutely need these to render our speech more colorful; in this way you can underscore what you say. No response is expected when asking a rhetorical question. Punctuation used at the end of a rhetorical question could be a question mark or also an exclamation point!

Obviously, Chinese too – a language of great richness – makes regular use of rhetorical questions which I’ll introduce in this article.

Basic rhetorical questions

Almost all question can be asked rhetorically. This depends on the context in which they are asked.

李护士: 天哪！都几点了？张医生怎么还不来？他在干吗？
Li hushi: Tianna! Dou ji dian le? Zhang yisheng zenme hai bu lai? Ta zai ganma?
Nurse Li: Oh Heaven! What time is it? How come DOctor Zhang hasn’t arrived yet? What is he doing?

In this case, “what time is it?” is a rhetorical question that indicates that someone is late.

图蒙多病人: 谁知道！你在问我，我问谁？连你不知道，我怎么能知道？
Tu Mengduo bingren: shei zhidao! Ni zai wen wo, wo wen shei? Lian ni bu zhidao, wo zenme neng zhidao?
Patient Tu Mengduo: Who knows! You’re asking me, and who would I ask? If you don’t even know, how could I?

In this case, both questions are rhetorical.

Forming positive or negative statements using rhetorical questions

From a rhetorical point of view, a negative question can be used to make a positive statement; a positive question, instead, can be used to form a negative statement. Let’s first create a context so that these type of questions work:

Context 1: One such, Mr. Mai, wants to buy a beautiful car but Mrs. Wang responds that she can’t allow it.

王女士: 谁不想买这辆车呢?不过，咱们有这个钱吗？
Wang nushi: shei bu xiang mai zhe liang che ne? Bu guo, zanmen you zhe ge qian ma?
Mrs. Wang: Who wouldn’t want to buy this car? But, do we have the money?

Context 2: Two friends are arguing over money found on the ground. One says that the money is his, the other uses a rhetorical question to say that the other can’t prove it.

第二个朋友:你说这些钱是你的，上面写着你的名字吗？
Di er ge pengyou: ni shuo zhe xie qian shi ni de, shangmian xie zhe ni de mingzi ma?
The second friend: you say the money is yours, but is your name written on it?

Using “affirmative questions followed by negative” rhetorically

An “affirmative question followed by a negative” (for example, 你吃不吃 – ni chi bu chi – “will you eat it or not?”) made rhetorically indicates that the speaker wants the listener to share the same feelings and/or opinions. In this case, it’s not unusual to use 你说 (ni shuo) “you tell me” e 你想一想 (ni xiang yi xiang) “think about it”.

毛老师: 你今天为什么看起来这么生气？
Mao laoshi: ni jintian wei shenme kan qi lai zheme shengqi?
Professor Mao: Why do you seem so angry today?

图蒙多: 中文考试又不及格，这是第三次了，你说，我气不气？
Tu Mengduo: zhongwen kaoshi you bu jige, zhe shi di san ci le, ni shuo, wo qi bu qi?
Tu Mengduo: I failed the Chinese test again, this is the third time. You tell me, shouldn’t I be angry?

我的一个学生才九岁就会说一点中文，你说，这个小孩子聪明不聪明？
Wo de yi ge xuesheng cai jiu sui jiu hui shuo yidian zhongwen, ni shuo, zhe ge xiao haizi congming bu congming?
My student is just 9 years old and already knows how to speak a little Chinese; tell me, isn’t this girl smart?

You might not believe it, but this example was taken from real life.

Using 不是…吗？(bu shi… ma?)

This expression is used when what is happening is not in line with what the speaker knows. The speaker, therefore, uses this expression to reaffirm what they know. It is usually followed or preceded by a real question that uses 为什么 (wei shenme) “why” and/or 怎么 (zenme) “how”.

Context: My little sister told me that she had to get up at 5 in the morning to catch the 6:30 bus for Catania, but at 6 she was still snoring away in bed. So I say to my mother:

妈，妹妹不是说要五点起床吗？现在已经六点了，她不是要坐六点半的公共汽车吗？
Ma, meimei bu shi shuo yao wu dian qichuang ma? Xianzai yijing liu dian le, ta bu shi yao zuo liu dian ban de gonggongqiche ma?
Mamma, didn’t my sister say that she had to get up at 5? It’s already 6, doesn’t she have to take the bus at 6:30?

Note: When the main verb is 是 (shi) “to be”, this is used only once:

为什么你这样？你们俩不是好朋友吗？
Wei shenme ni zhe yang? Nimen lia bus hi hao pengyou ma?
Why are you like this? Weren’t you two good friends?

At times you’ll also find 都 (dou) “all” and 也 (ye) “also” within one of the rhetorical questions that involve the use of 是. In this case, 都 and 也 are positioned as found in the following examples:

你怎么没有邀请他？他不也是你的朋友吗？
Ni zenme mei you yaoqing ta? Ta bu ye shi ni de pengyou ma?
How come you didn’t invite him? Isn’t he also your friend?

你怎么没有邀请他们？他们不都是你的朋友吗？
Ni zenme mei you yaoqing tamen? Tamen bu dou shi ni de pengyou ma?
How come you didn’t invite him? Aren’t they (all) your friends?

And if there’s also 就 (jiu) “really/actually”? where do you put it?

你手里的不就是汽车的钥匙吗 ？
Ni shou li de bu jiu shi qiche de yaoshi ma?
Aren’t you those actually your car keys in your hand?

可不是吗 (Ke bu shi ma)

可不是吗 is an expression used for expressing agreement with what a third person says:

这几天天气真不错啊！
Zhe ji tian tianqi zhen bucuo a!
These days the weather isn’t bad at all!

可不是吗！
Ke bu shi ma!
It really is!

The use of 何必 (hebi) and 何苦 (heku)

何必 can be trnslated as “why one must (do)” or “there’s no need to”. At the end of a rhetorical question with 何必 you could find the particle 呢 (ne).

这个小问题，何必花钱请人来处理？我自己来处理吧！
Zhe ge xiao wenti, hebi hua qian qing ren lai chuli? Wo ziji lai chuli ba!
Do we need to spend money to have someone come take care of this little problem? I’ll take care of it!

何苦 can be translated as “why worry?” or “it’s not worth it”.

他只是一个小孩子，还不懂事，何苦为了他生这么大的气？
Ta zhishi yi ge xiao haizi, hai bu dong shi, heku wei le ta sheng zheme da de qi?
He’s just a little boy and doesn’t know an better, is it worth getting so upset because of him?

The use of 哪里 (nali) “where”

The use of 哪里 to ask rhetorical questions is very interesting because it is very close to a similar use in the Italian language.

最近我忙得要死，哪里有时间看电视剧？我还要写论文！
Zuijin wo mang de yaosi, nali you shijian kan dianshiju? Wo hai yao xie lunwen!
Lately I’m ridiculously busy, where would I get the time to watch TV series? I also have to write my thesis!

今天天气这么好，哪里需要带上雨伞？
Jintian tianqi zheme hao, nali xuyao daishang yusan?
Today the weather is so good, why should I bring an umbrella? (literally it would be “where’s the need to bring the umbrella?”)

Even when you want to respond modestly to a compliment we can respond with 哪里, such as:

你的中文说得和中国人一样流利！
Ni de zhongwen shuo de he zhongguo ren yi yang liuli!
You speak Chinese like a Chinese person!

哪里哪里！
Nali nali!
It’s not true! (literally it would be “but where?” used to indicate modesty)

The use of 难道 (nandao)… [吗 (ma)]

难道 can be translated as “is it possible that?”:

你真存在啊！
Ni zhen cunzai a!
Does it really exisit!

难道是假的吗？
Nandao shi jia de ma?
Is it even possible that it might not be authentic?

这么明显的事情，难道你还不懂吗？
Zheme mingxian de shiqing, nandao ni hai bu dong ma?
Is it even possible that you still don’t understand something so obvious?

怎么 (zenme) “how” in rhetorical questions

Even 怎么 can be used in rhetorical questions:

我怎么会骗你？
Wo zenme hui pian ni?
How could I trick you?

什么 (shenme) “what” in rhetorical questions

There are different contexts in which to use 什么 for rhetorical questions:

Adjective + 什么 (Indicates a disagreement)

你的工作真好！
Ni de gongzuo zhen hao!
Your work is truly good!

好什么？因为工资太低，所以不值得做。
Hao shenme? Yinwei gongzi tai di, suoyi bu zhide zuo.
What good is it? Since the salary is too low, it’s not worth the trouble of doing it.

你紧张什么？赶不上，就坐下班。
Ni jinzhang shenme? Gan bu shang, jiu zuo xia ban.
What are you worried about? If we don’t get on, we’ll take the next one!

Verb + 什么 (indicates that there’s no need to do anything)

走路十分钟就到了，坐什么公共汽车！
Zoulu shi fenzhong jiu dao le, zuo shenme gonggongqiche!
It takes ten minutes on foot, why do we need to take the bus!

你哭什么？会有一天你会通过考试！
Ni ku shenme? Hui you yi tian ni hui tongguo kaoshi!
Why cry? One day you’ll manage to pass the test!

The use of 关你什么事 (guan ni shenme shi) “what does it have to do with you?”

This expression explains itself:

我跟谁聊天，关你什么事？
Wo gen shei liaotian, guan ni shenme shi?
What I’m talking about is none of your business.

Photo Credits: Photo by qimono on Pixabay