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How to ask a rhetorical question with 难道 (nándào)

难道 (nándào) + Statement + 吗 (ma)?

难道 (nán dào) — rhetorical question “isn’t it…?”

HSK 4Particles

Rule structure

难道 (nándào)…吗 (ma) forms a rhetorical yes-no question. It often expresses surprise, disagreement, or an expectation that the answer is obvious, similar to “don’t / isn’t it…?” in English.

Examples

你难道不知道这件事吗？

Nǐ nándào bù zhīdào zhè jiàn shì ma?

Don’t you know about this?

他真的不知道吗？

Tā zhēnde bù zhīdào ma?

Does he really not know?

Practice

Build the sentence

Drag the characters to put them in the correct order

Characters

Words from this rule

难道

nándào

Could it be that, really

吗

ma

Question particle

你

nǐ

You

不

bù

No, not

知道

zhīdào

To know

这

zhè

This

件

jiàn

(classifier for things, clothing, events)

事

shì

Matter

他

tā

He

真

zhēn

True, real, really, indeed

的

de

Possessive particle; modifier particle

喜欢

xǐhuan

To like, to enjoy

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “rhetorical question ‘isn’t it…?’” in Chinese with 难道?

Use the structure: 难道 (nándào) + Statement + 吗 (ma)?. For example: 你难道不知道这件事吗？ — “Don’t you know about this?”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

你难道不知道这件事吗？ — “Don’t you know about this?”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 4.

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More HSK 4 grammar rules

吧 — reviewing options

Option 1 + 吧 (ba)， Option 2 + 吧 (ba)，…

的 — modal particle for certainty

Statement + 的 (de)

全 — whole, entire

全 (quán) + Measure Word + Noun

到 — until (time/place/degree)

Verb + 到 (dào) + Time / Place / Degree

连 + verb — not even

连 (lián) + Verb + 都 (dōu) + 不 (bù) / 没 (méi) + Verb

原来 — it turns out, originally

Subj. + 原来 (yuánlái) + Predicate

得 — must, have to

Subj. + 得 (děi) + Verb Phrase

不管 — no matter

不管 (bùguǎn)⋯⋯，都 (dōu) / 也 (yě)⋯⋯