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哪儿 (nǎ r) — where? (interrogative); anywhere, everywhere (used with 都); (in rhetorical questions) how could..., how can...

Definition

哪儿 (nǎr) is the everyday spoken 'where?' — same meaning as 哪里 but more colloquial, and shorter in speech. In negative or rhetorical sentences it means 'how could...' (他哪儿是老师?).

pronoun
where? (interrogative)anywhereeverywhere (used with 都)(in rhetorical questions) how could...how can...
Easily confused

Examples

  • 哪儿？
    Nǐ qù nǎ r?
    Where are you going?
  • 哪儿。
    Wǒ nǎ r dōu qù.
    I go everywhere.
  • 哪儿？
    Tā nǎ r shì lǎo shī?
    How could he be a teacher?

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

哪nǎwhich
儿érplace

The 哪 'which' question gains a place sense from 儿, giving 'where'.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 哪 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1500 Most Frequent Chinese Words1000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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