不是……吗／难道……吗 Rhetorical Emphasis in Chinese
不是……吗？/难道……吗？
不是……吗 and 难道……吗 can form rhetorical questions that emphasize a proposition the speaker treats as obvious, expected, or contrary to the listener's assumption. Their question form does not guarantee a genuine request for information. Context and intonation determine whether the utterance reminds, challenges, objects, or expresses surprise.
Published August 15, 2026
Reviewed August 15, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
不是 + Proposition + 吗？; 难道 + Proposition + 吗？
Read the structure
不是……吗 and 难道……吗 can form rhetorical questions that emphasize a proposition the speaker treats as obvious, expected, or contrary to the listener's assumption. Their question form does not guarantee a genuine request for information. Context and intonation determine whether the utterance reminds, challenges, objects, or expresses surprise. Keep the model 不是 + Proposition + 吗？; 难道 + Proposition + 吗？ visible while you compare each sentence.
今天不是星期天吗？
Isn't today Sunday?
Choose the right context
Remind someone of a fact assumed to be shared. Challenge an assertion by presenting its opposite as obvious. Use context and intonation to signal that no new information is being requested.
难道你没去长城吗？
Could it be that you did not go to the Great Wall?
Respect the boundary
Do not assume every 不是加吗 question is rhetorical. Do not put 吗 inside the proposition. Do not claim rhetorical questions always express anger.
今天不是吗星期天？
(Today is not ma Sunday?)
Repair the pattern
吗 interrupts the proposition: 吗 closes the complete rhetorical proposition and cannot stand inside the predicate. 吗 immediately follows 难道: 难道 introduces the proposition, while 吗 belongs at the end of that complete proposition.
今天不是星期天吗？
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.
今天不是星期天吗？
Isn't today Sunday?
今天
不是
This part occupies the 不是 position in the model pattern.
不是
Proposition
This part occupies the Proposition position in the model pattern.
星期天
吗？; 难道
This part occupies the 吗？; 难道 position in the model pattern.
吗
Proposition
This part occupies the Proposition 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.
今天不是星期天吗？
Isn't today Sunday?
难道你没去长城吗？
Could it be that you did not go to the Great Wall?
这不是你的书吗？
Isn't this your book?
难道我们不应该先问清楚吗？
Shouldn't we first ask for clarification?
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Remind someone of a fact assumed to be shared.
- Challenge an assertion by presenting its opposite as obvious.
- Use context and intonation to signal that no new information is being requested.
Do not use it when
- Do not assume every 不是加吗 question is rhetorical.
- Do not put 吗 inside the proposition.
- Do not claim rhetorical questions always express anger.
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.
今天不是吗星期天？
今天不是星期天吗？
吗 interrupts the proposition
吗 closes the complete rhetorical proposition and cannot stand inside the predicate.
难道吗你没去长城？
难道你没去长城吗？
吗 immediately follows 难道
难道 introduces the proposition, while 吗 belongs at the end of that complete proposition.
今天不是吗星期天？
吗 closes the complete rhetorical proposition and cannot stand inside the predicate.
难道吗你没去长城？
难道 introduces the proposition, while 吗 belongs at the end of that complete proposition.
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 不是……吗？/难道……吗？.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 不是……吗？/难道……吗？. 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
不是……吗／难道……吗 Rhetorical Emphasis Questions
Are these always rhetorical?
No. 不是……吗 can also seek confirmation. A rhetorical reading depends on shared assumptions, discourse context, and intonation.
What stance does 难道 express?
It often marks surprise, challenge, or rejection of an implication, but those are tendencies rather than a single fixed emotion. The surrounding discourse supplies the exact force.
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 3 item 【三76】, PDF p. 210 (printed p. 204)
Places 不是吗 and 难道吗 rhetorical forms at Level 3 as methods of emphasis.
Official source现代汉语语法课程讲义
包头师范学院 · 包头师范学院 · 2024
Locator: Sentence types, slide 42
Defines rhetorical questions as question forms whose answer is already evident and whose communicative function is emphatic assertion.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Continue learning
反问句表示强调Rhetorical Questions for Emphasis
Place the specific 不是难道吗 frames inside the broader family of rhetorical questions used for emphasis.
Easy to confuse
吗吗 and A-not-A Questions
Compare rhetorical 吗 that asserts a stance with ordinary 吗 and affirmative-negative questions seeking information.
Compare
哪有X这么Y的 / 有这样Y的吗哪有…这么…的? as a Rhetorical Challenge
Distinguish 不是难道吗 prompting agreement from 哪有 directly rejecting an extreme proposition.
Compare
莫非莫非: Tentative Conjecture
Compare an emphatic rhetorical assertion with 莫非 expressing a suspicious or tentative inference.
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Continue learning
Place the specific 不是难道吗 frames inside the broader family of rhetorical questions used for emphasis.