"你是中国人吗？"
Translation:Are you Chinese?
30 Comments
This might be a Duolingo preference on preferred grammatical structure, but couldn't 'You are Chinese?' be correct as well? It was marked incorrect when I typed it in.
When you are asking something you have to put "are" first. Aren't you a native english speaker?
"You are Chinese?" is a legitimate English question, so English speakers may try it because they are trying to translate literally, but it is the wrong question, because it assumes that you have told me already that you are but either I am checking if I heard you correctly or I am surprised that you are Chinese. So, since the Chinese question is actually asking if you are and not verifying that you are, we must use the regular English question "Are you Chinese?"
I had the same issue. You are Chinese? seemed okay to me. I've had the same problem with "You also are" instead of "You are also" both seem grammatically correct in English.
I have same issue. But I typed "Are you a Chinese? Then, duolingo marked incorrect. What's wrong??
Chinese is an adjective in English, so to use "a" you would have to add "person", "man" or "woman". The last two cannot be implied from the Chinese question, so I do not know if they would be accepted.
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Although using the article would be grammatically correct, it would carry a slightly negative connotation, or possible mark the speaker as unsophisticated. The "person" word could be implied by the adjective, as one might call his or her mate, "My sweet," implying "my sweet one" or "my sweet wife," etc.
“My sweet” is an endearment, a cute name you call your wife. Are you implying that “a Chinese” could be used as a name? I don’t think so. “Hey, my sweet, could you bring that to me please.” It works.
Hey, a Chinese, could you.....NO it does not work.
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In some places in Duolingo, the standard English practice of adding a question mark to a statement is accepted, and in some places it is not. "Are you Chinese?" is a perfectly acceptable answer, but so is "You are Chinese?" provided that the question mark is included.
I like Duolingo, but these kinds of inconsistencies are annoying. And yes, I am a native English speaker with a BS in Speech.
The inconsistency is because Duolingo does not accept it usually, but sometimes people insist and write reports until they sometimes do add it in, but even though the English statement with a question mark at the end is a legitimate question, it is not the same question. “You are Chinese?” is a repetition of something someone has said which is said in surprise, and the real question is “Did I hear you correctly?” or sometimes it is said with a different emotion and means “Say it isn’t so?”, “Are you sure?” or “I don’t know if I believe you. Can you prove it?” It can be said with surprise, disbelief or sometimes with a different sentence in disgust. So that does not equal the same form of question in other languages which use it as just another general form of question. Oh, and I have also heard this English question used as a guess and in that case the question is “Am I right?
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Thanks for a well thought-out and well articulated answer. Everything you say is true except the part about the two being different questions. In many cases, "You are Chinese?" can mean EXACTLY the same thing as "Are you Chinese?" In fact, everything you said about "You are Chinese?" could also be said about "Are you Chinese?" I think about 95% of all English speakers would agree with me on this. (The other 5% would be wrong! ) I really think you should allow this.
Seriously, where did you come up with your percentages? Exactly which country are you from?
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Percentages are based on rigorous and lengthy studies of my opinion. I live in the town you may be in -- Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Duolingo is based in the 'Burgh? (Note the form of the question!) BTW, I meant native, American English speakers.
I am looking for an actual source other than your opinion. I am an actual American English speaker as well, but I do live in California where I was born and educated.
The following has the general type of questions for English.
https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-ask-questions-in-english-1211981
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I'm not here to debate. I am here to learn Chinese and perhaps pass on some opinions, knowledge, and expertise in English from time to time. I do have a problem when people try to teach me English -- and when my correct English answers are marked incorrect. But I can adapt to it, and will. Thanks for your courtesy and for offering your own opinions.
why is are "you a Chinese person?" not accepted??? "are you Chinese" just dosn't sound right. W.H.A.T T.H.E H.E.L.L!?!
“Are you Chinese?” sounds right in English. We just use the adjective.
In English we need “a Chinese person” or just “Chinese” without an article.
No, "Are you Chinese?" or "Are you a Chinese person?" I haven't tried the second one, but if it is not accepted, then we could report it.
You need to capitalize Chinese. “Are you Chinese?” Is accepted as correct.
I typed : "Are you a Chinese?" I shouldn't have added "a". All this time, I thought Chinese is a noun referring to someone from China. So I googled it, they are called "Chinese people" people instead.
Sorry, for this particular nationality, we just use the adjective. “Are you Chinese?” is exactly how we would ask a person in English.
