How to say “what” in Chinese
what, which
“What” in Chinese is 什么, shén me: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
什么 is read shén me: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
It almost never appears on its own, only in 什么.
A suffix with no meaning of its own, read with the neutral tone.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “什么”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 什么. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你叫什么名字？nǐjiàoshénmemíngziWhat’s your name?
- 请问您叫什么名字qǐngwèn,nínjiàoshénmemíngziExcuse me, what is your name?
- 你什么时候有时间nǐshénmeshíhouyǒushíjiānWhen do you have time?
- 你想喝什么nǐxiǎnghēshénmeWhat do you want to drink?
- 你还要什么？nǐháiyàoshénmeAnything else?
- 你喜欢吃什么水果？nǐxǐhuanchīshénmeshuǐguǒWhich fruits do you like?
More words from the lesson “What’s your name?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “what” in Chinese?
“What” in Chinese is 什么, pinyin shénme.
What does 什么 mean?
什么 (shénme) means “what, which”.
How do you write 什么?
什么 is 2 characters: 什 (shén) — part of “what”; 么 (me) — part of “what”. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 什么?
什么 is read shénme. Tones: shén — second tone, me — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“what” in the lesson “What’s your name?”
This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free