used to form a rhetorical question
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesadverb
is it possible that...?; surely it's not that...?
Used at the beginning of a sentence to form a rhetorical question that implies a strong denial or expresses surprise. Often paired with '吗' or '不成' at the end of the sentence. '难道说' is an equivalent variant.
Hé河
shuǐ水
nán难
dào道
huì会
dào倒
liú流
ma吗
？
Is it possible that the river water would flow backwards?
Tā他
men们
zuò做
de得
dào到
，
nán难
dào道
wǒ我
men们
jiù就
zuò做
bù不
dào到
ma吗
？
They can do it, surely it's not that we can't?
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Nán难
dào道
tā他
bìng病
le了
bù不
chéng成
？
Is it possible that he's sick?
Nán难
dào道
shuō说
zhè这
jiàn件
shì事
jiù就
zhè这
me么
suàn算
le了
？
Can it really be that we just let this matter drop?