HSK 2 · Common Things

问题 wèntí “question” in Chinese

Traditional 問題

What 问题 means

  1. question, problem
  2. issue
  3. topic

Measure word 个 gè · 一个问题 yí ge wèntí

How to say 问题

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale问wèn4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale题tí2nd tone, rising

问题 in a sentence

  1. 你能回答他的问题吗？

    Nǐ néng huídá tā de wèntí ma?

    Can you answer his question?

    Sentence #11294951 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你的电脑有什么问题？

    Nǐ de diànnǎo yǒu shénme wèntí?

    What’s wrong with your computer?

    Sentence #5842674 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 问题已经解决了。

    Wèntí yǐjīng jiějué le.

    The problem has been solved.

    Sentence #10188547 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 问题 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 问 (wèn) with each of its parts in a different colour
问wènto ask; to inquire
  • 门gate · ménSound part
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 门 (mén) hints at the sound. Compare it with wèn.

Memory aidA mouth 口 at the gate 门, with 门 (mén) giving the sound: to ask.

The character 题 (tí) with each of its parts in a different colour
题títopic
  • 是to be · shìSound part
  • 页page · xiéMeaning part

页 hints at the meaning (page); 是 (shì) hints at the sound. Compare it with tí.

Memory aidHead 页 with 是 (shì) for the sound. It first meant the forehead, and so a title or topic.

How to write 问题

问 6 strokes · 题 15 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

问题 (wèntí) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 问题 (wèntí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 问题

Words with 问

请问qǐngwèn · Excuse me问wèn · to ask提问tíwèn · to question问候wènhòu · to give one’s respects询问xúnwèn · to inquire疑问yíwèn · question学问xuéwèn · learning反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question过问guòwèn · to concern oneself with慰问wèiwèn · to express sympathy

Words with 题

题tí · question (on a test)难题nántí · difficult problem题目tímù · subject话题huàtí · subject (of a talk or conversation)主题zhǔtí · theme课题kètí · research topic专题zhuāntí · special topic标题biāotí · title题材tícái · subject matter

More words: Everyday Things

手表shǒubiǎo · watch手机shǒujī · mobile phone题tí · question (on a test)雪xuě · snow事情shìqing · matter颜色yánsè · colour公共汽车gōnggòng qìchē · bus意思yìsi · meaning

FAQs

问题 (wèntí) means “question, problem” or “issue”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it wèntí: wèn with a 4th tone, then tí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 问题 is written 問題. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one question is 一个问题 (yí ge wèntí).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type wenti with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 问题 from the suggestions. Typing wenti into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
问题 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.