HSK 6 · Verbs

反问 fǎnwèn “to ask a rhetorical question” in Chinese

Traditional 反問

What 反问 means

  1. to ask a rhetorical question
  2. rhetorical question
  3. to ask (a question) in reply
  4. to answer a question with a question

How to say 反问

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale反fǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale问wèn4th tone, falling

反问 in a sentence

  1. 他没有回答，反问我：“你觉得呢？”

    Tā méiyǒu huídá, fǎnwèn wǒ: “Nǐ juéde ne?”

    He didn’t answer, but asked me back, “What do you think?”

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. “难道你不知道吗？”这是一个反问句。

    “Nándào nǐ bù zhīdao ma?” Zhè shì yí ge fǎnwèn jù.

    “Don’t you know?” is a rhetorical question.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 反问 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 反 (fǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
反fǎncontrary
  • 厂cliff · hǎn
  • 又again · yòu
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.

How to write 反问

反 4 strokes · 问 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 反问

Words with 反

反对fǎnduì · to oppose相反xiāngfǎn · opposite反映fǎnyìng · to reflect反应fǎnyìng · to react违反wéifǎn · to violate (a law)反而fǎn'ér · on the contrary反复fǎnfù · repeatedly反正fǎnzhèng · anyway反驳fǎnbó · to refute反思fǎnsī · to reflect on

Words with 问

请问qǐngwèn · Excuse me问wèn · to ask问题wèntí · question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过问guòwèn · to concern oneself with慰问wèiwèn · to express sympathy

More words: Thinking & Talking

发呆fādāi · to stare blankly发觉fājué · to discover反驳fǎnbó · to refute反思fǎnsī · to reflect on发誓fāshì · to swear分辨fēnbiàn · to distinguish吩咐fēnfù · to instruct附和fùhè · to echo (someone’s views)

FAQs

反问 (fǎnwèn) means “to ask a rhetorical question” or “rhetorical question”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it fǎnwèn: fǎn with a 3rd tone, then wèn with a 4th 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, 反问 is written 反問. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fanwen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 反问 from the suggestions. Typing fanwen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
反问 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.