吗
ma
Yes-no questions with "ma"
Add 吗 to the end of a statement and it becomes a yes/no question. Nothing else moves.
Statement + 吗 ?
How it works
他是老板 becomes 他是老板吗? There's no inversion, no auxiliary, no change in word order — just 吗 on the end.
To answer, repeat the verb rather than saying yes or no: 是 or 不是, 去 or 不去. 对 works as a general "that's right".
Don't combine 吗 with a question word. 你去哪儿吗? is wrong, because 哪儿 already makes it a question.
Examples
tā shì lǎo bǎn ma?
他是老板吗？
Is he the boss?
nǐ hē kā fēi ma?
你喝咖啡吗？
Do you drink coffee?
zhè ge guì ma?
这个贵吗？
Is this expensive?
Common mistakes
- Never use 吗 in a sentence that already has 什么, 谁, 哪儿 etc.