什么
Traditional: 什麼
shén me HSK 1

English Meaning

📚 Example Sentences

这是什么?
Zhè shì shénme?
What is this?
你吃什么?
Nǐ chī shénme?
What do you eat?
他有什么?
Tā yǒu shénme?
What does he have?
你叫什么名字?
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
What is your name?
我不知道该做什么。
Wǒ bù zhīdào gāi zuò shénme.
I don't know what to do.

💡 Memory Tip

Think of the sound 'shen' as 'shin' (like your leg) and 'me' as in 'me'. Imagine pointing to your shin and asking 'What is this on me?' to remember it means 'what'.

📝 Usage Notes

It is extremely common in both spoken and written Chinese, across formal and informal contexts. It is used in questions (e.g., 'What is this?'), indefinite references (e.g., 'something'), and rhetorical expressions (e.g., 'What's the point?').

📖 Grammar Points

1. Used directly as an object: 你喜欢什么?(What do you like?). 2. Used with 的 to ask about attributes: 这是什么颜色的?(What color is this?). 3. Used for rhetorical questions: 这有什么难的?(What's so difficult about this?). 4. Used for indefinite reference: 我想吃点什么。(I want to eat something).

🏯 Cultural Notes

In rhetorical questions, 什么 can soften criticism or express modesty, e.g., replying with '没什么' (it's nothing) to a compliment. It's also common in the phrase '什么意思?' which can mean 'What do you mean?' and is a direct way to seek clarification.

🔄 Similar Words

Compared to 哪 (nǎ, which), 什么 asks 'what' about identity or nature, while 哪 asks 'which' about selection from a known set. Compared to 怎么 (zěnme, how), 什么 asks about things, while 怎么 asks about manner or method.

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