吗 (ma)

"吗 (ma)" is used for yes-or-no questions. Just put a "吗 (ma)" at the end of a statement, the statement will change to a yes-or-no question.

 

你是意大利人吗？

 nǐ shì yì dà lì rén ma?

Are you Italian?

 

你喜欢游泳吗？

nǐ xǐ huan yóu yǒng ma?

Do you like swimming?

 

呢 (ne)

 "呢 (ne)" can be placed at the end of a S-V-O sentence to show that the action or the state is in progress or continuation. It often works with "在 (zài)", "正在 (zhèng zài)", "着 (zhe)"... The function is to draw the other person's attention to what's happening.

 

他在睡觉呢！

tā zài shuì jiào ne!

 He is sleeping!

 

 门开着呢！

mén kāi zhe ne!

 The door is open!

 

 It can also be placed at the end of a question [except yes-or-no questions with "吗 (ma)"] to express a puzzled feeling as if you're trying to figure out the answer.

 哪个女孩是他女朋友呢？

nǎ ge nǚ hái shì tā nǚ péng you ne?

Which girl is his girlfriend?

 

我该送她饼干还是巧克力呢？

wǒ gāi sòng tā bǐng gān hái shì qiǎo kè lì ne?

 Should I give her cookies or chocolate?

 

If it's put after a noun or a pronoun, but there is no topic before, it makes a "where" question.

 

妈妈呢？

mā ma ne?

Where is mom?

 

我的手表呢？

wǒ de shǒu biǎo ne?

Where's my watch?