TABLE OF CONTENTS
How to Say Which in Chinese?
1. Do Not Confuse between 哪 and 那 | Na
• Pinyin 哪 and 那 Na or Nei on Mobile?
2. Interrogative Pronoun: Which in Chinese – 哪个 Nage
• With Subject Pronoun
3. Interrogative Determiner: Which in Chinese – 哪 Na
4. Which + Quantity
5. Which is the Date?
• Measure Word for Date
• Which Day? Difference Between 日 and 天
How to Say Which in Chinese?
Which in Chinese 哪 | Nǎ can be an Interrogative Pronoun or an Interrogative Determiner in a Chinese sentence construction. It is used to ask questions specifying a person, thing or a group from a defined category, taking a preference when asked to choose between two or more objects.
Do Not Confuse Between 哪 and 那 | Na
Take note that the character for Which in Chinese 哪 Nǎ is written differently from 那 Nà which means “That (as in this and that)” in English. 哪 has a “mouth 口 Kǒu” on the left side of the Chinese character. Both have different Hanyu Pinyin pronunciation too. 哪 Nǎ is the third Pinyin sound whereas 那 Nà has the fourth.
We can also pronounce both 哪 Něi and 那 Nèi as the third and fourth Pinyin tone respectively. The Chinese audio below is for comparison purpose on the four Pinyin pronunciation so you can hear the difference more clearly.
Which, That – Na｜Nei
哪，那 ｜ 哪，那
Nǎ, Nà ｜ Něi, Nèi
Which one, That one – Na Ge ｜ Nei Ge
哪个，那个 ｜ 哪个，那个
Nǎ ge, Nà gè ｜ Něi gè, Nèi gè
Pinyin 哪 and 那 Na or Nei on Mobile?
Whether you key in “na” or “nei” on your Chinese Pinyin keyboard on your phone or computer, you would be able to get both the Chinese characters to appear.
Interrogative Pronoun: Which in Chinese – 哪个 Nage in Mandarin
Which in Chinese – 哪个 Nǎge, in its simplest form of an Interrogative Pronoun when there is no Subject or noun.
Which is which?
哪个是哪个？
Nǎ ge shì nǎ ge?
Which one?
哪个？/ 哪一个？
Nǎ ge? / Nǎ yī gè?
Which ones?
哪些？/ 哪一些？
Nǎ xiē? / Nǎ yī xiē?
Which few?
哪几个？
Nǎ jǐ gè
哪些 Nǎxiē and 哪几个 Nǎ jǐ gè are both plural forms of Which in Chinese. They both mean few, some or several.
- Which few 哪些 Nǎxiē: Countable and uncountable nouns
- Which few 哪几个 Nǎ jǐ gè: Only for countable nouns
You can read more about 些 Xiē from the Demonstrative Pronouns (this/that/these/those) in singular and plural form.
With Subject Pronoun
When you want to include a Subject Pronoun (I, He, She, We) in the sentence, place it at the start of the sentence as a guideline which is entirely different from English which the Interrogative words would start first.
(Showing something as a choice) Which one do you like? This one or that one?
你喜欢哪个？这个还是那个？
Nǐ xǐ huān nǎ ge? Zhè ge hái shì nà gè?
(Pointing to the menu) Which one do you want to eat? Fish or meat?
你想吃哪个？鱼还是肉？
Nǐ xiǎng chī nǎ ge? Yú hái shì ròu?
(You feel that) which one is more suitable for her? Black or white?
你觉得哪个最适合她？黑的还是白的？
Nǐ jué dé nǎ ge zuì shì hé tā? Hēi de hái shì bái de?
There are so many people over there, which one do you mean?
那里有这么多人，你指的是哪一个？
Nà li yǒu zhè me duō rén, nǐ zhǐ de shì nǎ yī ge?
Yesterday, we chatted about so many things. Which ones are you referring?
昨天， 我们聊了那么多东西。你指的是哪一些？
Zuó tiān, wǒ men liáo le nà me duō dōng xī. Nǐ zhǐ de shì nǎ yī xiē?
While learning the Chinese language, which are those that you find difficult to understand?
在学习中文时，哪些是你觉得比较难理解的？
Zài xué xí zhōng wén shí, nǎ xiē shì nǐ jué dé bǐ jiào nán lǐ jiě de?
Among the Chinese cultures, which are those that you like? / Which are the Chinese cultures that you like?
中国文化中，你喜欢哪些？/ 你喜欢哪些中国文化？
Zhōng guó wén huà zhōng, nǐ xǐ huān nǎ xiē? / Nǐ xǐ huān nǎ xiē zhōng guó wén huà?
Interrogative Determiner: Which in Chinese – 哪 Na in Mandarin
When there is a noun placed after Which in Chinese – 哪 Nǎ, it would then become an Interrogative Determiner that modifies the noun. Usually, a Measure Word/Classifier is inserted between them. For plural – 哪些 Nǎxiē, do not use any Measure Word.
哪 + Measure Word + Noun
哪些 + Noun
Which person?
哪个人？哪一个人？
Nǎ ge rén? Nǎ yī gè rén?
Which people?
哪些人？哪一些人？
Nǎ xiē rén? Nǎ yī xiē rén?
Which thing? What things?
哪样东西？哪些东西？
Nǎ yàng dōng xī? Nǎ xiē dōng xī?
In Shanghai, which places are interesting?
在上海，有哪些地方好玩啊？
Zài shàng hǎi, yǒu nǎ xiē dì fāng hǎo wán a?
You have many friends. How would I know which one you are saying?
你有那么多朋友。我怎么可能知道你在说哪个人？
Nǐ yǒu nà me duō péng yǒu. Wǒ zěn me kě néng zhī dào nǐ zài shuō nǎ ge rén?
Which colleague is so kind as to send you home?
哪位同事那么好送你回家？
Nǎ wèi tóng shì nà me hǎo sòng nǐ huí jiā?
Which type of fashion design is most attractive to her?
哪种类型的服装设计最吸引她？
Nǎ zhǒng lèi xíng de fú zhuāng shè jì zuì xī yǐn tā?
Which restaurant do you want to go? / Which are the restaurants that you like to go?
你喜欢去哪间餐馆？/ 你喜欢去哪些餐馆？
Nǐ xǐ huān qù nǎ jiān cān guǎn? / Nǐ xǐ huān qù nǎ xiē cān guǎn?
Which in Chinese + Quantity
If you want to specify a quantity in a Which in Chinese question, the Chinese Number will come before the measure word. When the number is one, it is possible not to state it in the sentence, especially for speaking Mandarin.
哪 + Number + Measure Word + Noun
Which is the most difficult question? Which question is the easiest?
哪一道问题最难？哪道问题最容易？
Nǎ yī dào wèn tí zuì nán? Nǎ dào wèn tí zuì róng yì?
Which glass of wine is mine? Which glass is yours?
哪杯酒是我的？哪一杯是你的？
Nǎ bēi jiǔ shì wǒ de? Nǎ yī bēi shì nǐ de?
Which two students did not come for the lesson the day before?
前天，哪两位学生没来上课？
Qián tiān, nǎ liǎng wèi xué shēng méi lái shàng kè?
Which three European countries do you want to go the most?
你最想去哪三个欧洲国家？
Nǐ zuì xiǎng qù nǎ sān gè ōu zhōu guó jiā?
Which are the few Chinese characters that you do not understand?
哪几个中文字你看不懂？/ 哪些中文字你看不懂？
Nǎ jǐ gè zhōng wén zì nǐ kàn bù dǒng? / Nǎ xiē zhōng wén zì nǐ kàn bù dǒng?
Which is the Date?
When the inquiry occurs together for a date – year, month and day | 哪年哪月哪日 | Nǎ nián nǎ yuè nǎ rì, this particular group of words has no measure word. You can also write in the number one as 哪一年，哪一月，哪一日 to emphasise the date. Sometimes, we omit the number one 一 Yī when speaking Mandarin. When a question is asking for a specific year, month or day, you can include the number one 一 Yī.
Measure Word for Date
- Which Year: 哪年，哪一年，哪个年，哪(一)个年份
- Which Month: 哪月，哪一月，哪(一)个月，哪(一)个月份
- Which Day: 哪日/天，哪一日/天，X 哪一
个日/天，XX哪一个日/天份- X – Do not use any measure word.
- XX – Incorrect. No such phrase.
Which Day? Difference Between 日 Ri and 天 Tian
- Which day? Use 哪日 Nǎ rì when you want to specify the day of the month.
- Which day? Use 哪天 Nǎ tiān in a general sense of any day.
You are born in which year, which month, which day?
你出生在哪年哪月哪日？
Nǐ chū shēng zài nǎ nián nǎ yuè nǎ rì?
Which year did we graduate?
我们在哪一年毕业？
Wǒ men zài nǎ yī nián bì yè?
Next year Lunar New Year is on which month? In January or February?
明年的农历新年是在哪个月份？一月(份)还是二月(份)？
Míng nián de nóng lì xīn nián shì zài nǎ ge yuè fèn? Yī yuè (fèn) hái shì èr yuè (fèn)?
This year, which day is the best for marriage?
今年哪日结婚最好？
Jīn nián nǎ rì jié hūn zuì hǎo?
Which day are you free? We can come out for a chit-chat.
你哪(一)天有空？我们出来聊聊天吧！
Nǐ nǎ (yī) tiān yǒu kòng? Wǒ men chū lái liáo liáo tiān ba!
See also the article for more information on How to Say Date – Year, Month and Year in Chinese? You will also learn other Chinese phrases to ask about date-related questions. The next two W Chinese Interrogative Terms in line are Where and When in Mandarin.
