(shén me) - what in Mandarin
shénmeTraditional: 什麼
Translation
what
Word origin
什么 (shén me) pairs 什 (shén), the person radical 亻 with 十 as phonetic, and 么 (me), a light grammatical particle. The two combine purely for sound into the interrogative 'what'.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 什 (shén, 亻person radical + 十 phonetic) + 么 (me, particle)
Stroke order
什
么
Examples
？
What is this?
？
What do you want to eat?
？
What is your name?
？
What book are you reading?
？
What happened outside?
什么 (shénme) is the question word for what, used to ask about objects, things, or identity.
Used in
Stories
(9)Grammar articles
(8)Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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