反问

反問

fǎnwèn

verb HSK 6 #21,869

Meanings

1 to ask in retort; to counter with a question
2 rhetorical question

Characters

reverse; opposite; to counter

to ask; to inquire

To ask in reverse — to counter-question or pose a rhetorical question.

Examples

她反问道：'你自己呢？'

Tā fǎn wèn dào: 'Nǐ zìjǐ ne?'

She retorted: 'What about yourself?'

他不回答，反而反问了我一个问题。

Tā bù huídá, fǎn'ér fǎn wèn le wǒ yī gè wèntí.

He didn't answer, but instead countered with a question.

这是一个反问句。

Zhè shì yī gè fǎn wèn jù.

This is a rhetorical question.

Tips

usage

反问句 (fǎn wèn jù) is the grammar term for 'rhetorical question.' In Chinese rhetoric, rhetorical questions are very common and often end with 吗 or 呢 but expect no answer.

Stroke Order

反 fǎn

问 wèn