Discussion of 呢 [ne] marker of a special, alternative or rhetorical question; used to mark a pause in a sentence

Discussion of 呢

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1. 呢 is often used at the end of a question indicating a certain tone of interrogation. Depending on the context, this tone can be a tone of uncertainty (Example 1), a tone of conjecture (Example 2), a tone of releasing or urging (Example 3), etc. Please note that 呢 can be be used after 吗 in an interrogative sentence.
Example 1. 我能不能去呢？ [phr] Can I go or not? (with a tone of uncertainty)
Example 2. 你在哪儿呢？ [phr] Where are you?
Example 3. 你喜欢红的还是黑的呢？ [phr] Do you like the red one or the black one?

2. 呢 can also be used to ask “where” when the context is clear. In this case, 呢 appears after a noun or a pronoun to form a one-member question (Example 4). Additionally, 呢 can be used to ask a related question in a certain context (Example 5). When the context is not very clear, both of the two possibilities exit (Example 6).
Example 4. 汤呢？ [phr] Where's the soup?
Example 5. 我十六岁。小明，你呢？ [phr] I am sixteen. What about you, Xiaoming?
Example 6. 你的手机呢？ [phr] Where is your cellphone?; (asking a related question) What about your cellphone?

* Please note that 呢 can also be used at the end of a statement. Check out the notes on the other entry of 呢.

lisaC

How is 呢 used in a sentence?

个学生

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If you have studied Japanese understanding this rhetorical or emphatic use of 呢 is quite similar to the Japanese ‘ne’ used at the end of a sentence such as ‘jōzu ne’ (skilful!).

Henhao16!

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