Choosing Basic Question Pronouns by Missing Information in Chinese
多 / 多少 / 几 / 哪 / 哪儿 / 哪里 / 哪些 / 什么 / 谁 / 怎么
Choose the question pronoun by the missing information: 谁 asks for a person, 什么 for identity or kind, 哪 for selection, 哪儿 or 哪里 for place, 几 or 多少 for number, 多 for degree, and 怎么 for method. This lesson focuses on meaning choice; the related word-order lesson explains answer-slot placement.
Published July 26, 2026
Reviewed July 26, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method
Read the structure
Choose the question pronoun by the missing information: 谁 asks for a person, 什么 for identity or kind, 哪 for selection, 哪儿 or 哪里 for place, 几 or 多少 for number, 多 for degree, and 怎么 for method. This lesson focuses on meaning choice; the related word-order lesson explains answer-slot placement. Keep the model Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method visible while you compare each sentence.
谁是你的老师？
Who is your teacher?
Choose the right context
Match 谁, 什么, 哪, or 哪些 to the unknown person, identity, or selection. Use 哪儿 or 哪里 for place and 几 or 多少 for quantity. Use 多 before a gradable expression and 怎么 before the action whose method is unknown.
你住在哪儿？
Where do you live?
Respect the boundary
Do not use 哪儿 to ask for a person. Do not treat 几 and 多少 as identical in every context; 几 often expects a relatively small count. Do not use this page as permission to move question words to the front; normal answer-slot order still applies.
哪儿是你的老师？
(Who is your teacher?)
Repair the pattern
A place question word asks for a person: The missing information is a person, so use 谁. 哪儿 asks for a place. 怎么 asks for a quantity: The unknown value is a price, so use 多少钱. 怎么 asks how an action is performed or how a situation is.
谁是你的老师？
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
谁是你的老师？
Who is your teacher?
谁是
Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method
This part occupies the Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method position in the model pattern.
你的
Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method
This part occupies the Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method position in the model pattern.
老师
Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method
This part occupies the Question pronoun in the slot of the unknown person, thing, place, number, or method position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
谁是你的老师？
Who is your teacher?
你住在哪儿？
Where do you live?
这本书多少钱？
How much is this book?
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Match 谁, 什么, 哪, or 哪些 to the unknown person, identity, or selection.
- Use 哪儿 or 哪里 for place and 几 or 多少 for quantity.
- Use 多 before a gradable expression and 怎么 before the action whose method is unknown.
Do not use it when
- Do not use 哪儿 to ask for a person.
- Do not treat 几 and 多少 as identical in every context; 几 often expects a relatively small count.
- Do not use this page as permission to move question words to the front; normal answer-slot order still applies.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
哪儿是你的老师？
谁是你的老师？
A place question word asks for a person
The missing information is a person, so use 谁. 哪儿 asks for a place.
这本书怎么钱？
这本书多少钱？
怎么 asks for a quantity
The unknown value is a price, so use 多少钱. 怎么 asks how an action is performed or how a situation is.
哪儿是你的老师？
Use 谁 for a person.
这本书怎么钱？
Use 多少钱 for a price.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 多 / 多少 / 几 / 哪 / 哪儿 / 哪里 / 哪些 / 什么 / 谁 / 怎么.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 多 / 多少 / 几 / 哪 / 哪儿 / 哪里 / 哪些 / 什么 / 谁 / 怎么. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Choosing Basic Question Pronouns by Missing Information Questions
What is the difference between 哪儿 and 哪里?
Both ask where. 哪儿 is especially common in northern speech, while 哪里 is broadly used and common in southern varieties.
How is this lesson different from Question Words Stay in Place?
This lesson chooses the correct question pronoun for the missing meaning. The related lesson teaches where that chosen expression appears in the sentence.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, Level 1 item 【一04】, 疑问代词：多、多少、几、哪、哪儿、哪里、哪些、什么、谁、怎么, PDF pp. 176–177
Lists the official Level 1 question-pronoun inventory and its core question functions.
Official sourceLearning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin, Unit 7
Julian K. Wheatley · MIT OpenCourseWare · 2011
Locator: Unit 7 appendix, Question words, printed pp. 44–46; full PDF body opened
Defines 谁, 什么, 哪, 哪儿/哪里, 怎么, 多少, 几, and 多 and distinguishes the information each expression requests.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Continue learning
什么 / 谁 / 哪儿 / 怎么Question Words Stay in Place
Choose the question expression by meaning, then use the related lesson to keep it in the answer position.
Compare
吗吗 and A-not-A Questions
Content questions request one missing value, whereas 吗 and affirmative-negative forms ask whether a proposition is true.
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个Chinese Measure Words
Use a classifier after 哪 or 几 when the unknown noun phrase requires one, as in 哪本书 or 几个人.
Compare
呢The Particle 呢 (ne)
A lexical question pronoun requests specific information, while 呢 can continue a contextual question without naming the missing category.
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Choose the question expression by meaning, then use the related lesson to keep it in the answer position.