When to use variations of 那?
那 (nà,nǎ, nèi, núo) has multiple pronunciations. Can someone explain when to use the different sounds?
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1we now write 哪里 and 哪个 instead of 那里 and 那个 for 'where' and 'which', respectively. This eliminates some ambiguities. As to the rest, you can say na4 in all circumstances; while many native speakers (perhaps not all) actually say [nə] in 那邊(there), 那個(that), etc. – user58955 Jun 3 '14 at 15:05
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@user58955 Define "we". I, for instance, never replace 那 by 哪 in written interrogatives. Admittedly, the differentiation between 那 and 哪 does eliminate a few ambiguities, but practically such ambiguities are rare. – user4086 Jun 4 '14 at 10:08
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@user1551 sorry, I meant in standard mandarin in mainland China. – user58955 Jun 4 '14 at 13:03
那 (nà): that, those
e.g 那是什么？What is that?/What are those?
哪 (nǎ): where, which
e.g 你在哪里？Where are you?
那 (nèi): that, those.
The same meaning as the first 那 (nà). But in "Internet Slang", people often write 内(nèi) instead of 那, because 那 is often pronounced as (nà) e.g 那个人 That guy
那 (nuó):【adj】 多,much,many
It is used in archaic Chinese.
More explanations about 那 can be found at: http://xh.5156edu.com/html3/2193.html http://www.zdic.net/z/26/js/90A3.htm
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1Refer to the answers in this question for more information regarding the
nèipronunciation. The zdict.net link also provides the explanation of its derivation as a contraction ofnà yī(那一). – Claw Jun 3 '14 at 17:06
