How to say “what to do?” in Chinese
what to do?
“What to do?” in Chinese is 怎么办, zěn me bàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
怎么办 is read zěn me bàn: 3 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
Below, 心 “heart”.
A suffix with no meaning of its own, read with the neutral tone.
In the middle, 力 “strength”.
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 “怎么办”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 怎么办. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我的护照丢了，怎么办？wǒdehùzhàodiūle,zěnmebànI've lost my passport, what do I do?
- 空调又坏了，怎么办？kōngtiáoyòuhuàile,zěnmebànThe air conditioner broke again — what do we do?
- 我在学习上遇到了困难，怎么办？wǒzàixuéxíshangyùdàolekùnnan,zěnmebànI'm having trouble with my studies. What should I do?
- 下雨的时候，阳台漏水，怎么办？xiàyǔdeshíhou,yángtáilòushuǐ,zěnmebànWhen it rains, the balcony leaks. What should I do?
- 菜还剩这么多，怎么办？càiháishèngzhèmeduō,zěnmebànThere's still so much food left, what do we do?
- 收到的衣服不合适，怎么办？shōudàodeyīfubùhéshì,zěnmebànThe clothes I received don't fit. What should I do?
More words from the lesson “What happened and what to do”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “what to do?” in Chinese?
“What to do?” in Chinese is 怎么办, pinyin zěnme bàn.
What does 怎么办 mean?
怎么办 (zěnme bàn) means “what to do?”.
How do you write 怎么办?
怎么办 is 3 characters: 怎 (zěn) — how; 么 (me) — part of “what”; 办 (bàn) — do, handle. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 怎么办?
怎么办 is read zěnme bàn. Tones: zěn — third tone, me — neutral tone, bàn — fourth tone. The page has an audio recording.
“what to do?” in the lesson “What happened and what to do”
This word is from the topic “Work and business” of HSK 3. 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.
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