HSK 3.0 Level 1 · Question Words

哪里 nǎlǐ “where?” in Chinese

Said as nálǐ

Traditional 哪裏

What 哪里 means

  1. where?
  2. somewhere
  3. anywhere
  4. wherever
  5. nowhere (negative answer to question)
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • humble expression denying compliment

How to say 哪里

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale哪nǎ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale里lǐ3rd tone, dipping

Said as nálǐ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

哪里 in a sentence

  1. 爸爸，我的杯子在哪里？

    Bàba, wǒ de bēizi zài nǎlǐ?

    Dad, where’s my cup?

    Sentence #10961056 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 请问你在哪里工作？

    Qǐngwèn nǐ zài nǎlǐ gōngzuò?

    Excuse me, where do you work?

    Sentence #347375 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 你想去哪里都可以。

    Nǐ xiǎng qù nǎlǐ dōu kěyǐ.

    You can go wherever you like.

    Sentence #4267276 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 哪里 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 哪 (nǎ) with each of its parts in a different colour
哪nǎhow
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part
  • 那that · nàSound part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 那 (nà) hints at the sound. Compare it with nǎ.

Memory aidA mouth 口 added to 那 (nà) “that” makes a question: which? where?

The character 里 (lǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
里lǐlining
  • 田field · tián
  • 土earth · tǔ

Memory aidFields 田 and earth 土: a village. As a simplified character it also stands for 裏, “inside”.

How to write 哪里

哪 9 strokes · 里 7 strokes

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

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

Words related to 哪里

Words with 哪

哪nǎ · which哪儿nǎr · where哪些nǎxiē · which ones?哪个nǎge · which one?哪怕nǎpà · even

Words with 里

里lǐ · inside那里nàli · there这里zhèlǐ · here里面lǐmiàn · inside心里xīnlǐ · in one’s heart公里gōnglǐ · kilometre里程碑lǐchéngbēi · milestone

More words: Question Words

谁shéi · who什么shénme · what哪nǎ · which怎么zěnme · how怎么样zěnmeyàng · how is it几jǐ · how many (small)多少duōshǎo · how many哪个nǎge · which one?

FAQs

哪里 (nǎlǐ) means “where?” or “somewhere”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word.
Say it nǎlǐ: nǎ with a 3rd tone, then lǐ with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like nálǐ. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. 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, 哪里 is written 哪裏. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type nali with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 哪里 from the suggestions. Typing nali into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
哪里 is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 1 word list. It is not on the older 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.