HSK 4 grammar · adverb
难道
难道 — don't tell me / could it really be
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Introduces a rhetorical question that expresses disbelief or challenges an idea; the speaker actually implies the opposite of what is asked. It usually ends with 吗 and is not meant to be answered literally.
Examples
难道你不知道今天有考试吗？
Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào jīntiān yǒu kǎoshì ma?
Don't tell me you didn't know there's a test today?
难道这就是你的答案？
Nándào zhè jiùshì nǐ de dá'àn?
Could this really be your answer?
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 难道 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.