7.4 The Question Word 邊 bin1 (‘which’)

The question word 邊 bin1 is similar to which in English. We use 邊 bin1 when we want to elicit an answer from a set of choices, or specify the type of thing we want to ask about.

When using 邊 bin1, we need to add a classifier and a noun after 邊 bin1. The noun specifies the type of thing expected to be the answer. The classifier is determined based on the noun.

邊 bin1 ‘which’	Classifier	Noun (Type of thing)
邊	間	公司
bin1	gaan1	gung1 si1
which	CL	company

which company

	A:	你喺邊間公司做㗎？ nei5 hai2 bin1 gaan1 gung1 si1 zou6 gaa3? Which company do you work at?
	B:	我喺IT Pug做嘅。 ngo5 hai2 IT Pug zou6 ge3. I work at IT Pug [a fictional company].

邊間公司 bin1 gaan1 gung1 si1 specifies that a company is expected to be the answer.

We can optionally omit the noun if it is obvious in the context.

	A:	你讀咩科㗎？ nei5 duk6 me1 fo1 gaa3? What do you study?
	B:	我讀會計嘅。 ngo5 duk6 wui6 gai3 ge3. I study accounting.
	A:	你喺邊間(學校)讀㗎？ nei5 hai2 bin1 gaan1 (hok6 haau6) duk6 gaa3? Which school do you study at?
	B:	我喺科大讀嘅。 ngo5 hai2 fo1 daai6 duk6 ge3. I study at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology [a university in Hong Kong].

The verb 讀 duk6 (‘to study’) and the classifier 間 gaan1 (a classifier for organizations) make it obvious that the question asks about the school. Therefore, the noun 學校 hok6 haau6 (‘school’) can be omitted.

We can optionally add the number 一 jat1 before the classifier if we expect the answer to be only one item.

你喺邊一間學校讀㗎？
nei5 hai2 bin1 jat1 gaan1 hok6 haau6 duk6 gaa3?
Which school do you study at?
Since most people usually study at one school at a time, the answer is expected to be only one school. The number 一 jat1 can be optionally added before the classifier.