莫非
could it be that…?; surely not…?
Structure
莫非 猜测 （不成）？
What it means
“Could it be that…?”: voices a guess prompted by something odd you have just noticed, often a worried or surprised one.
How it is built
Odd fact，莫非 + guess (+ 不成)？: 他今天一句话也不说，莫非是生病了？ (he hasn’t said a word all day; could he be ill?) 不成 adds emphasis: 莫非他忘了不成？
When to use it
More bookish than 难道 and gentler: 难道 usually challenges, 莫非 mostly wonders. In everyday speech say 是不是… or 不会是…吧. The sentence ends in a question mark.
Watch out
It needs something odd behind the guess: ✗ 莫非你明天有空？ as a plain question. ✓ 你明天有空吗？
Examples
接到“警察”的电话，不少人的第一反应是：莫非我的身份证被坏人用了？
When a “policeman” rings, many people’s first thought is: could crooks have been using my ID card?
他今天一句话也不说，莫非是生病了？
He has not said a word all day. Could he be ill?
都十点了还不来，莫非他忘了不成？
It is ten o’clock and he still has not come. Surely he hasn’t forgotten?
Learn this in Lesson 68 · HSK 6: 反诈 (Phone and online scams)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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