你去哪儿？
nǐ qù nǎ ér ？
Where are you going · trad. 你去哪兒？
你去哪儿？ (nǐ qù nǎr?) is a common and direct way to ask "where are you going?" in Mandarin Chinese. It's used in everyday situations to inquire about someone's destination.
When to use it
Generally casual and friendly. For a slightly more complete or intentional nuance, you can add 要 (yào, "to want/to be going to"), as in 你要去哪儿？ (nǐ yào qù nǎr?). To be more polite or formal, especially when addressing elders or strangers, use 您 (nín) instead of 你 (nǐ), like 您要去哪里？ (nín yào qù nǎlǐ?). A common reply is 我去... (wǒ qù...), "I'm going to..."
How to pronounce it
Sounds like "nee choo NAR?" The "r" at the end of 哪儿 is often pronounced with a slight retroflex (r-colored) sound, similar to the "er" in "flower" in some American accents. The tones are third, fourth, third (with the third tone on 哪儿 often lightened).
Other ways to say it
- 你去哪里？nǐ qù nǎ lǐ ？where are you going? (using 哪里 instead of 哪儿)
- 你要去哪儿？nǐ yào qù nǎ ér ？where are you going to go? (adds intention)
- 您要去哪里？nín yào qù nǎ lǐ ？where are you (polite) going to go?
Examples
你去哪儿？我也去。
nǐ qù nǎ ér ？ wǒ yě qù 。
Where are you going? I'm going too.
喂，你去哪儿？
wèi ， nǐ qù nǎ ér ？
Hey, where are you going?
师傅，您要去哪里？
shī fu ， nín yào qù nǎ lǐ ？
Driver, where are you going? (polite, common for taxi drivers)
Pro tip: 哪儿 (nǎr) and 哪里 (nǎlǐ) both mean "where" and are largely interchangeable in most contexts. 哪儿 is more common in northern China (including Beijing), while 哪里 is more common in southern China. Choose the one you hear most often where you are.
Related phrases
和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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