难道说 (nán) — (rhetorical question marker) do you really mean to say that…?; could it be that…?
Definition
难道说 opens a rhetorical question that implies 'surely not…' or 'you don't really mean…'. It is more emphatic than 吗 and almost always expects the listener to disagree.
verb
(rhetorical question marker) do you really mean to say that…?could it be that…?
Examples
- 难道说？nán Nǐ bù xǐ huan zhè ge lǐ wù?Do you really mean to say you don't like this gift?
- 难道说？nán Wǒ men jiù zhè yàng fàng qì le?Could it be that we're just giving up like this?
- 难道说？nán Tā yǐ jīng zhī dào le zhè jiàn shì?Do you really mean to say he already knows about this?
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