<blockquote>
<p>Question: When can we start a question with 什么是……?</p>
</blockquote>
<ol>
<li>When asking for a definition</li>
</ol>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>什么是美？ - you want the answer to tell you the definition of beauty</p>
<p>If the answer is a definition you can use 什么是 to start the question
e.g. 什么是水平 (you want the definition of level)</p>
<p>~</p>
<ol start="2">
<li>When there is a follow-up statement by the asker</li>
</ol>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>什么是美？ 美就是(insert your opinion on what is beauty)</p>
<p>Following this rule, you can even ask 什么是你的水平？ (What is your level?) as long as you have a follow-up statement</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>什么是你的水平？ 垃圾級就是你的水平!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-12-01T10:52:32.350Z
2022-12-01T10:52:32.350Z
Tang Ho
<blockquote>
<p>The important thing to remember is that word order is the same in Chinese for questions and statements.<br />
<sub><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Placement of question words</a>, Chinese Grammar Wiki</sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the Chinese Grammar Wiki says this, it doesn't give a single example where 什么 is the subject of a question.  It feels like it's ungrammatical a lot of the time:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>什么是</strong>这？  (What is this?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>我的名字？  (What is your name?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>你最喜欢的颜色？  (What is your favorite color?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>你的水平？  (What is your level?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>一加一？  (What is one plus one?)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But sometimes it seems okay:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>什么是</strong>美？  (What is beauty?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>百度？  (What is Baidu?)<br />
<strong>什么是</strong>气候变化？ (What is climate change?)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm not precisely sure, but it appears we can ask questions like &quot;什么是[pla pla]？&quot; when &quot;[pla pla]&quot; is some abstract, unfamiliar, or needing-to-be-defined concept.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: When can we start a question with 什么是……?</p>

<grammar>
When can we start a question with 什么是……?
# When can we start a question with 什么是……?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-12-01)

> The important thing to remember is that word order is the same in Chinese for questions and statements.  
> [Placement of question words](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Placement_of_question_words), Chinese Grammar Wiki

While the Chinese Grammar Wiki says this, it doesn't give a single example where 什么 is the subject of a question. It feels like it's ungrammatical a lot of the time:

> **什么是**这？ (What is this?)  
> **什么是**我的名字？ (What is your name?)  
> **什么是**你最喜欢的颜色？ (What is your favorite color?)  
> **什么是**你的水平？ (What is your level?)  
> **什么是**一加一？ (What is one plus one?)

But sometimes it seems okay:

> **什么是**美？ (What is beauty?)  
> **什么是**百度？ (What is Baidu?)  
> **什么是**气候变化？ (What is climate change?)

I'm not precisely sure, but it appears we can ask questions like "什么是[pla pla]？" when "[pla pla]" is some abstract, unfamiliar, or needing-to-be-defined concept.

**Question**: When can we start a question with 什么是……?

**Tags:** grammar


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-12-01. Score: 2

> Question: When can we start a question with 什么是……?

1. When asking for a definition

Example:

什么是美？ - you want the answer to tell you the definition of beauty

If the answer is a definition you can use 什么是 to start the question
e.g. 什么是水平 (you want the definition of level)

~

2. When there is a follow-up statement by the asker

Example:

什么是美？ 美就是(insert your opinion on what is beauty)

Following this rule, you can even ask 什么是你的水平？ (What is your level?) as long as you have a follow-up statement

Example:

什么是你的水平？ 垃圾級就是你的水平!


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