Rhetorical Questions with 难道
Use 难道 to ask rhetorical questions that emphasize the obvious answer.
Pattern
难道 + Subject + Verb/Adjective + 吗？
Explanation
难道 is placed at the beginning of a rhetorical question to express disbelief, emphasis, or to challenge someone's statement. The expected answer is the opposite of what the question literally asks.
Rhetorical questions with 难道 are stronger than simple statements. '难道你不知道吗？' (Don't you know?) is more emphatic than '你应该知道' (You should know). The sentence usually ends with 吗.
Examples
难道你不觉得这样做不对吗？
Nándào nǐ bù juéde zhèyàng zuò bú duì ma?
Don't you think this is wrong?
难道他说的都是真的吗？
Nándào tā shuō de dōu shì zhēn de ma?
Is everything he said really true? (implying it's not)
难道我们就这样放弃吗？
Nándào wǒmen jiù zhèyàng fàngqì ma?
Are we just going to give up like this? (implying we shouldn't)
Common Mistakes
难道你去哪里？
难道你不想去吗？
难道 is for rhetorical questions (yes/no), not information questions (where/when/who).
Related Grammar
Practice this grammar with AI
Use this grammar pattern in a real conversation with our AI tutor.
Start Practicing