(zěnme) - how in Mandarin
zěnmeTraditional: 怎麼
Translation
how
Word origin
怎么 (zěnme) 'how' joins 怎 (zěn, 'how') and the suffix 么 (me). 怎 is a phono-semantic compound with 心 (xīn, 'heart' radical) under 乍 (zhà) as phonetic; 么 is a light grammatical suffix.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 怎 (心 heart radical + 乍 phonetic) + 么 (me, suffix)
Stroke order
怎
么
Examples
？铁？
How are you getting to the airport? By metro?
？
How do you read this character?
？。
What is the matter with you? You do not look well.
？
How did you know?
？
Why has he not come yet?
Used in
Grammar articles
(4)Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
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
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 1.