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

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/questions-negation/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-28

> Ask yes/no questions with ĉu, other questions with ki- words (kio, kie, kiam). Negate with ne or a neni- word; two negatives cancel each other out.

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](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/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](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/correlatives/) table.

| Word | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| *kio* | what | *Kio estas tio?* | "What is that?" |
| *kiu* | who, which | *Kiu vi estas?* | "Who are you?" |
| *kia* | what kind of | *Kia estas la vetero?* | "What is the weather like?" |
| *kie* | where | *Kie vi loĝas?* | "Where do you live?" |
| *kien* | where to | *Kien vi iras?* | "Where are you going?" |
| *kiam* | when | *Kiam vi venos?* | "When will you come?" |
| *kial* | why | *Kial vi ridas?* | "Why are you laughing?" |
| *kiel* | how | *Kiel vi fartas?* | "How are you?" |
| *kiom* | how much, how many | *Kiom ĝi kostas?* | "How much does it cost?" |
| *kies* | whose | *Kies libro estas tio?* | "Whose book is that?" |
| *kioma* | which (in a series) | *Kioma horo estas?* | "What time is it?" (see [numbers](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/numbers/)) |

When the question word is the object, it takes the [accusative](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/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](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/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.

| Word | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| *neniu* | nobody; no (one) | *Neniu venis.* | "Nobody came." |
| *nenio* | nothing | *Mi vidis nenion.* | "I saw nothing." |
| *nenie* | nowhere | *Ĝi estas nenie.* | "It is nowhere." |
| *neniam* | never | *Mi neniam fumis.* | "I have never smoked." |
| *neniel* | in no way | *Mi neniel povas helpi.* | "I can't help in any way." |
| *nenial* | for no reason | *Li nenial koleris.* | "He got angry for no reason." |
| *nenia* | no kind of | *Mi havas nenian ideon.* | "I have no idea at all." |
| *nenies* | nobody's | *Ĝi estas nenies.* | "It is nobody's." |
| *neniom* | none, no amount | *Restas neniom.* | "None is left." |

## 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:

| Answer | "Western" system | "Eastern" system |
|---|---|---|
| *Jes!* | "Yes, I do want coffee." | "Right, I don't want any." |
| *Ne!* | "No, I don't want any." | "No, I do want coffee." |

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](https://esperantopedia.org/phrases/basic/).

## 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)](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html)
- [PMEG – Questions and answers](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/index.html)
- [PMEG – Ĉu-questions](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/chu.html)
- [PMEG – Answer words](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/respondvortoj.html)
- [PMEG – Negation](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/neado.html)
- [PMEG – Word order (position of ne)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/vortordo/index.html)
- [Wikipedia – Esperanto grammar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto_grammar)