Daily Mandarin Lesson What in Chinese

Learning how to say what in Chinese is a very helpful vocabulary word that will enable you to ask and understand questions. The Chinese term for â€Å"what† is 甚é º ¼ written traditionally, or ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë† written in simplified form. In Mandarin Chinese, its pinyin is shà ©nme. Most commonly used as a question word, 甚é º ¼ / ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë† can also be used in certain statements. For example, æ ²â€™Ã§â€Å¡Ã© º ¼ / æ ² ¡Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë† (mà ©i shà ©nme) translates to it doesn’t matter or its nothing. 甚é º ¼ / ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë† (shà ©nme) occurs after the verb it references. Or, when used  with  a noun, the term can appear at the beginning of the phrase. Characters The Chinese term for what is composed of two characters: 甚é º ¼ / ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†. The first character 甚 / ä »â‚¬ (shà ©n) can mean â€Å"what† or why depending on which characters come before or after. The second character is a non-independent particle which is always used in conjunction with other characters. Together,  Ã§â€Å¡Ã© º ¼ / ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë† means what. Pronunciation 甚 / ä »â‚¬ (shà ©n) is pronounced in the 2nd tone. This is a rising tone that starts from a lower pitch then rises upwards. On the other hand, ä ¹Ë† is an unaccented word. Thus, in terms of tones, the Chinese term for what can be written as shen2 me. Sentence Examples Using Shà ©nme NÇ  yà  o chÄ « shà ©nme?ä ½  Ã¨ ¦ Ã¥ Æ'甚é º ¼?ä ½  Ã¨ ¦ Ã¥ Æ'ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†?What do you want to eat?Shà ©nme dà ¬fang bÇ jià  o hÇŽo wà ¡n?甚é º ¼Ã¥Å" °Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¦ ¯â€Ã¨ ¼Æ'Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã§Å½ ©?ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†Ã¥Å" °Ã¦â€" ¹Ã¦ ¯â€Ã¨ ¾Æ'Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã§Å½ ©?What place is fun? Zhà ¨ shà ¬ shà ©nme yà ¬si?這æ˜ ¯Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã© º ¼Ã¦â€ž Ã¦â‚¬  ?è ¿â„¢Ã¦Ëœ ¯ ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†Ã¦â€ž Ã¦â‚¬ ?What does it mean? / What is the meaning? NÇ  xià  nzà  i zà  i zuà ² shà ©nme?ä ½  Ã§  ¾Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥ Å¡Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã© º ¼Ã¤ ½  Ã§Å½ °Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥ Å¡Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†What are you doing right now?