A不A
Reach for this when you want to ask a yes/no question without the 吗 at the end. 你去不去？ = Are you going? It is the most common spoken alternative to 吗 questions, and it carries a slightly more direct, in-the-moment feel — like the speaker genuinely wants you to pick one side right now. Works with verbs (去不去) and adjectives (好不好).
Structure
[VERB/ADJECTIVE] 不 [VERB/ADJECTIVE]
[V/ADJ] bù [V/ADJ]
How to Think About It
A不A is literally the question forcing you to pick between the affirmative and negative form. Chinese makes the choice visible in the question itself — 去不去 = go-or-not-go. Two important behaviors: (1) with two-syllable verbs you can shorten to first-syllable-only (喜欢不喜欢 → 喜不喜欢); (2) you cannot combine A不A with 吗 at the end — the structure already IS the question marker.
Examples
你明天来不来？
nǐ míngtiān lái bu lái?
Are you coming tomorrow?
这个菜辣不辣？
zhège cài là bu là?
Is this dish spicy?
你喜不喜欢这首歌？
nǐ xǐ bu xǐhuān zhè shǒu gē?
Do you like this song?
Common Mistake
Learners pile 吗 onto A不A because they think every question needs 吗. But 不 already does that job in this pattern. Adding 吗 makes the question feel double-marked, like saying 'do you go-or-not-go-eh?'
你今天忙不忙吗？
你今天忙不忙？
Don't Confuse With
...吗？
Same yes/no question. 吗 is shorter and slightly neutral; A不A feels a bit more direct and conversational. Pick either, but never both.
是不是
Specialized A不A form for confirming a guess — 'isn't it the case that...' Use 是不是 when you already suspect the answer and want confirmation; use plain A不A when you genuinely don't know.
还是
For choice questions between two distinct options (你喝茶还是咖啡？). A不A is only ever between an action and its negation.
Practice
Fill the blank: 你今天累____累？
Show answer
不
Fill the blank: 这个餐厅____不好？
Show answer
好
Arrange: 喝 / 你 / 不 / 茶 / 喝
Show answer
你喝不喝茶？
Translate to Chinese using A不A: Is the weather good today?
Show answer
今天天气好不好？
Write an A不A question to ask a friend.
Show answer
你周末有没有时间？
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode. Press play to hear the sentence:
今天我们说一说AI聪明不聪明。
Today we are going to talk about whether AI is smart or not.
Luc Julia Questions Whether AI Really ThinksBeginner
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear A不A in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start.