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    Chinese Grammar

    Asking 'who' questions with 谁 (shéi)

    HSK 1
    Questions

    Structure

    谁 replaces the unknown person in the sentence

    Explanation

    The question word 谁 means "who" and is used in place of the person you are asking about. Unlike English, no special word order is needed — 谁 simply replaces the unknown person in the sentence. For example, 他是谁? means "Who is he?" and 谁来了? means "Who came?"

    Examples

    • 今天谁值班?

      jīntiān shéi zhíbān?

      Who's on duty today?

    • 你旁边那个人是谁?

      nǐ pángbiān nàge rén shì shéi?

      Who's that person next to you?

    • 谁想和我一起去吃饭?

      shéi xiǎng hé wǒ yīqǐ qù chīfàn?

      Who wants to go eat with me?