了
le
Particle (completed action or change of state)
Asking “have you…?” in Chinese with 了吗 (le ma)
Verb + 了 (le) + 吗 (ma)？
了吗 (le ma) — questions with 了吗 (le ma)
HSK 1Question Forms
Verb + 了 (le) + 吗 (ma)？
HSK 1Question Forms了吗 (le ma) — questions with 了吗 (le ma)
Rule structure
了吗 (le ma) at the end of a sentence or after a verb phrase expresses a question about the completion of an action. Such a question is general and expects a "yes" or "no" answer.
Rule structure
了吗 (le ma) at the end of a sentence or after a verb phrase expresses a question about the completion of an action. Such a question is general and expects a "yes" or "no" answer.
Examples
你吃饭了吗？
Nǐ chīfàn le ma?
Have you eaten?
他喝水了吗？
Tā hēshuǐ le ma?
Did he drink water?
你喝水了吗？
Nǐ hēshuǐ le ma?
Have you drunk water?
Examples
你吃饭了吗？
Nǐ chīfàn le ma?
Have you eaten?
他喝水了吗？
Tā hēshuǐ le ma?
Did he drink water?
你喝水了吗？
Nǐ hēshuǐ le ma?
Have you drunk water?
Practice
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Characters
Words from this rule
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “questions with 了吗” in Chinese with 了吗?
Use the structure: Verb + 了 (le) + 吗 (ma)？. For example: 你吃饭了吗？ — “Have you eaten?”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
你吃饭了吗？ — “Have you eaten?”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 1.
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More HSK 1 grammar rules
怎么样 — how is it?
⋯⋯怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)？
什么 — question words
什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme)
吗 — yes-no questions
Statement + 吗 (ma)？
是 — “is” in Chinese
A + 是 (shì) + B
来 vs 去 — coming and going
来 (lái) / 去 (qù) + Place
星期 — days of the week
星期 (xīngqī) + Number
时间 — time words and word order
Subj. + Time … / Time + Subj. …
在 — actions in progress
(正 (zhèng)) 在 (zài) + Verb