难道…吗: rhetorical question
Structure: 难道 + (Subject) + Verb Phrase + 吗？
The implied answer is always the OPPOSITE of the surface question. 难道 signals that the speaker finds a situation unbelievable or morally unacceptable.
> 难道你不知道吗？ — Don't tell me you don't know! (= Of course you know!)
Key contrasts
- 是不是…？= genuine yes/no question
- 怎么 = surprised complaint, not a rhetorical question
- 真的…吗？= plain request for confirmation
- 难道…吗？= rhetorical; speaker already believes the opposite
Colloquial variant: 难道…不成？ (more forceful, spoken)
> 难道你还不相信我不成？ — Don't tell me you still don't believe me?
Usage tip: 难道 nearly always co-occurs with 吗 at the end. The sentence expresses strong disbelief or moral challenge, not a real question.
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 难道你不相信我吗？ | Nándào nǐ bù xiāngxìn wǒ ma? | Don't tell me you don't believe me? (= Of course you should!) | Basic 难道…吗 structure with simple VP. Implied answer is the opposite: you should believe the speaker. |
| 难道他就没有一点责任感吗？ | Nándào tā jiù méiyǒu yīdiǎn zérèngǎn ma? | Don't tell me he has absolutely no sense of responsibility? (= He must have some!) | Adds explicit subject (他) and negated predicate (没有一点). 就 intensifies disbelief. New element: longer VP with negation. |
| 难道连这么简单的问题你都回答不了吗？ | Nándào lián zhème jiǎndān de wèntí nǐ dōu huídá bù liǎo ma? | Don't tell me you can't even answer such a simple question? | New element: 连…都 for extra emphasis — 'can't even…'. Used when the bar seems very low. |
| 难道你还没准备好不成？ | Nándào nǐ hái méi zhǔnbèi hǎo bù chéng? | Don't tell me you're still not ready? (emphatic, colloquial) | New element: colloquial variant 难道…不成 is even more forceful than …吗. 还没 + 不成 underscores impatience. |
难道…吗 is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
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