Expressing "some" with question words

The "some" we refer to is the vague, undefined "some," as in "somewhere," "someone," "something," or "sometime." Chinese question words can play this double role.

Contents

1 "Somewhere" with 哪儿

1.1 Examples

2 "Someone" with 谁

2.1 Examples

3 "Something" with 什么

3.1 Examples

4 "Sometime" with 什么时候

4.1 Examples

5 See also
6 Sources and further reading

6.1 Books

"Somewhere" with 哪儿

Examples

这个人我在哪儿见过。 Zhège rén wǒ zài nǎr jiàn guo. I met this person somewhere.
这首歌我在哪儿听过。 Zhè shǒu gē wǒ zài nǎr tīng guo. I've heard this song somewhere.
这篇文章我们在哪儿看过。 Zhè piān wénzhāng wǒmen zài nǎr kàn guo. I've read this article somewhere.

"Someone" with 谁

Examples

你让谁来帮我一下。 Nǐ ràng shéi lái bāng wǒ yīxià. Ask somebody to help me with this.
这件事我听谁说过。 Zhè jiàn shì wǒ tīng shéi shuō guo. I've heard someone say this before.
你找谁带你进去吧。 Nǐ zhǎo shéi dài nǐ jìnqù ba. You should find someone to take you inside.

"Something" with 什么

Examples

我们应该做点儿什么。 Wǒmen yīnggāi zuò diǎnr shénme. We should do something.
老大，你不说点儿什么？ Lǎodà, nǐ bù shuō diǎnr shénme? Boss, aren't you going to say something?
我想喝点儿什么。 Wǒ xiǎng hē diǎnr shénme. I want to drink something.

"Sometime" with 什么时候

Examples

什么时候我们见面谈吧。 Shénme shíhou wǒmen jiànmiàn tán ba. Let's meet and talk about this sometime.
什么时候来我新家玩吧。 Shénme shíhou lái wǒ xīn jiā wán ba. You should come to my new house to hangout sometime.
我们什么时候去看看他吧。 Wǒmen shénme shíhou qù kànkan tā ba. Let's pay him a visit sometime.

See also

Expressing "every" with question words
Advanced yes-no questions with "ma"

Sources and further reading

Books