(gān ma) - why, what for, what are you doing in Mandarin
gānmaTraditional: 幹嘛
HSK 3
#297 of 5,000 Core 1000
Translation
why, what for, what are you doing
Word origin
A colloquial compound of 干 (gan) 'to do' and the question particle 嘛 (ma), built on the 口 'mouth' radical. Together: 'what are you doing, why'.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 干 (gan, 'to do') + 嘛 (ma, question particle, 口 mouth radical)
Stroke order
干
嘛
Examples
？
What are you doing?
？
What were you doing just now?
？
Why are you looking for me?
?
What were you doing last night?
?
Why are you so angry?
干嘛 (gān ma) means why, what for, what are you doing. It is used as a other in everyday Mandarin speech.
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