什么

• Pinyin: shén me
• Hanzi breakdown: 什 = 亻(person) + 十 (ten); 么 = a grammatical particle, simplified from 麼

Meaning

What; which. The most common interrogative pronoun for asking about things.

The most frequently used question word in Chinese. Used to ask about identity, type, reason, and more. Unlike English, the question word stays in place of the unknown — the sentence structure doesn't invert. Also used in exclamations and to mean 'anything' in certain patterns, e.g. 什么都行 (anything is fine).

Examples

1. 你叫什么名字？ What is your name?
2. 这是什么？ What is this?
3. 你喜欢吃什么？ What do you like to eat?

Usage Guide

Context: questions, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你在做什么？(What are you doing?)
• 什么时候走？(When are we leaving?)

Don't Say

• 什么你要？(Wrong word order — say 你要什么, keeping the question word in the object position)

Origin & History

Originally 什 meant 'ten' or 'miscellaneous,' and 么 is a particle. Together they evolved into the standard question word 'what' in vernacular Chinese.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal