In English, you push "who" to the front of a question. In Chinese, 谁 (shéi) stays exactly where the answer would go — no rearranging, no special word order.
The structure is simple: place 谁 (shéi) either before or after the verb, depending on what you're asking about. To ask who someone is, you say 谁是你的老师？(shéi shì nǐ de lǎoshī?) — "Who is your teacher?" Here 谁 sits before the verb 是 (shì), replacing the person you're asking about. Flip it around and you get 你认识谁？(nǐ rènshi shéi?) — "Who do you know?" Now 谁 follows the verb 认识 (rènshi), standing in for the person your listener knows.
The key rule: don't move 谁 to the front like English does. Put it in the exact spot where the answer would go.
This is a live voice conversation lesson — you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin, not type. Over roughly 10 minutes, Mei Lin asks you questions that require 谁 (shéi) responses and corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you go. You'll practice asking who someone is, finding out who did something, and asking about who your friends know. Mei Lin adapts to your level, so the conversation stays challenging but never overwhelming.
After this lesson, you'll be comfortable using 谁 in both positions — before and after the verb — without hesitating.
Ready to practice more? Head to the HSK 1 lessons hub page for the full curriculum. If you want to work on possession next, try another HSK 1 live lesson titled "Whose Is This?". For counting and numbers, the HSK 1 live lesson titled "Asking How Many" is a natural follow-up. You can also print handwriting worksheets with the free Chinese worksheet generator to practice writing 谁 and other HSK 1–3 characters.
谁 (shéi) goes in the exact spot where the answer would appear — it does not move to the front of the sentence like "who" does in English. For example, in 你认识谁？(nǐ rènshi shéi?), 谁 follows the verb because the answer (the person you know) would also follow it. In 谁是你的老师？(shéi shì nǐ de lǎoshī?), 谁 comes first because the answer — a person's name — would be the subject.
In this live voice lesson, you'll talk with AI teacher Mei Lin and practice three things: asking who someone is, finding out who did something, and asking about who your friends know. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in real time, so you'll learn to place 谁 (shéi) correctly without overthinking word order.
Each live conversation lesson targets one specific grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. This lesson focuses on 谁 (shéi) — Asking "Who" — so you'll spend the full session producing and responding to questions using this pattern. You can try your first lesson free.
Yes — you can print handwriting worksheets using the free Chinese Worksheet Generator. Ready-made packs cover HSK 1–3 words, so you can practice writing 谁 (shéi) alongside other beginner characters while you work through the live lessons.