Esperanto questions and negation: ĉu, ki- words, ne

Esperanto turns a statement into a yes/no question by putting ĉu at the start: Vi parolas Esperanton → Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? – "Do you speak Esperanto?". Other questions begin with a ki- word such as kio "what" or kie "where". To negate, put ne before the word you deny, or use a neni- word. One negative per clause is enough (rule 12 of the 16 rules).

#Yes/no questions with ĉu

Ĉu normally stands at the beginning of the question (PMEG). The rest of the sentence does not change: there is no "do", and the verb does not move.

• Ĉu vi komprenas min? – "Do you understand me?"
• Ĉu vi estas kanadano? – "Are you Canadian?"
• Ĉu vi volas kafon aŭ teon? – "Do you want coffee or tea?"

Ĉu can also come at the end, after a comma: Vi estas usonano, ĉu? To ask for confirmation, add ĉu ne?: Vi restos hejme, ĉu ne? – "You'll stay at home, won't you?" (PMEG).

In reported questions ĉu means "whether": Mi ne scias, ĉu li venos – "I don't know whether he will come".

#Questions with ki- words

Questions about details start with a ki- word from the correlatives table.

When the question word is the object, it takes the accusative -n: Kion vi volas? – "What do you want?"; Kiun vi vidis? – "Whom did you see?".

Ki- words usually come first, but other orders are allowed for emphasis (Wikipedia; see word order). The same words also introduce relative clauses: la viro, kiu venis – "the man who came".

A question can also be asked by intonation alone, without ĉu (PMEG). In writing, ĉu makes the question clear.

#Negation with ne

Ne stands right before the word it negates (PMEG). Before the verb, it negates the whole sentence:

• Mi ne dormas. – "I am not asleep."
• Ne mi faris tion. – "It wasn't me who did that."
• Ni faris la kontrakton ne skribe, sed parole. – "We made the contract not in writing, but orally."

Nek … nek means "neither … nor": Mi volas nek kafon, nek teon – "I want neither coffee nor tea". After a negative, nek adds "and not": Mi ne renkontis lin, nek lian fraton – "I didn't meet him, nor his brother".

#Neni- words

The neni- row of the correlatives gives words that negate on their own, wherever they stand.

#No double negation

Rule 12 of the Fundamento: "If there be one negative in a clause, a second is not admissible." So Mi vidis neniun means "I saw nobody", with no ne before the verb.

Two negatives cancel each other out. Mi ne amas neniun means "It is not true that I love nobody" – so I do love someone (PMEG). This trips up speakers of Spanish, Polish, Russian and other languages where double negatives are normal.

Repeating the same negative word only adds emphasis: Neniam, neniam, neniam li revenos – "He will never, never, never come back" (PMEG).

#Answering with jes and ne

Jes means "yes" and ne means "no". They also make short answers: Ĉu vi komprenas? – Jes, mi komprenas. / Ne, mi ne komprenas.

Negative questions are tricky. For Ĉu vi ne volas kafon? – "Don't you want coffee?", PMEG describes two systems in use:

Both are found in practice. The safest answer is a full sentence: Jes, mi volas or Ne, mi ne volas. For more everyday phrases, see basic phrases.

#Examples in sentences

• Ĉu vi jam manĝis? – "Have you eaten yet?"
• Ĉu ni iru al la kinejo aŭ restu hejme? – "Shall we go to the cinema or stay at home?"
• Kun kiu vi parolis? – "Who did you talk to?"
• Pri kio vi pensas? – "What are you thinking about?"
• Kiom da gefratoj vi havas? – "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"
• Kial vi ne venis hieraŭ? – "Why didn't you come yesterday?"
• Mi neniam estis en Japanio. – "I've never been to Japan."
• Neniu el ni scias la respondon. – "None of us knows the answer."
• Mi tute ne scias, kie li estas. – "I have no idea where he is."

#Common questions

#How do you say yes and no in Esperanto?

"Yes" is jes and "no" is ne. Ne also means "not": Ne, mi ne scias – "No, I don't know".

#Does the word order change in Esperanto questions?

No. Put ĉu in front of a statement for a yes/no question, or start with a ki- word. There is no auxiliary verb like English "do".

#Is double negation allowed in Esperanto?

No. One negative per clause is enough, and two negatives cancel out: Mi ne vidis neniun means "I did see someone".

#How do you answer a negative question in Esperanto?

Speakers use two different systems for jes and ne, so a full sentence is clearest: Jes, mi volas – "Yes, I do want it".

#What is the difference between ĉu and kiu?

Ĉu asks whether something is true and expects jes or ne. Kiu means "who" or "which": Kiu venis? – "Who came?".

#Sources

• Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English (rule 12)
• PMEG – Questions and answers
• PMEG – Ĉu-questions
• PMEG – Answer words
• PMEG – Negation
• PMEG – Word order (position of ne)
• Wikipedia – Esperanto grammar