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plInterrogative pronouns nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 and nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ are used to ask about places and locations.
Structure
Basic form
Interrogative pronouns nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 and nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ can be used in the place of the subject in questions with the verb yǒu 有 ‘there is, there are’.
They can be used the in the place of the object in questions with the verb qù 去 ‘to go’.
They can be used in questions with zài 在 ‘to be at’.
They can form an attributive phrase with particle de 的. This structure is used to ask which place something comes from or is associated with.
Questions
Interrogative pronouns nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 and nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ are normally placed at the point where the required information would be provided in the corresponding statement.
Functions
1. Nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 and nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ asking about places
Interrogative pronouns nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 and nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ are used to ask questions about places or locations. Nǎli 哪里/哪裡 ‘where’ is more typical for southern speakers, while nǎr 哪儿/哪兒 is more typical for nothern speakers. Th phrase zài nǎr object/person 在哪儿 / 在哪兒 is used to ask about the location of a specific or known object or person. The phrase nǎlǐ yǒu 哪里有 / 哪裡有 object/person asks about the place where something exists or can be found, often when the speaker is looking for something but does not know where it might be.