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怎么

zěn me

Old HSK 1 HSK 3.0 level 1 2-character word Traditional 怎麼

怎么 (zěn me) means "how?". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 1 in the old six-level list.

What 怎么 means

1. how?
2. what?
3. why?

How 怎么 is used in grammar

怎么 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Wh-Questions: 什么/谁/哪/怎么 (HSK 1)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 1, pronouns (疑问代词).

Other readings

怎么 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• zěn mevariant of {怎么|zěn me}

The characters in 怎么

• 怎zěnhow
• 么mesuffix, used to form interrogative 什么

Example sentences

• 怎么会有
  Zěnme huì yǒu
  Why would there be?
• 怎么了？
  What's the matter?
• 怎么样？
  How?
• 怎么呀？
  How?
• 怎么办！
  And how!
• 你怎么样？
  How about you?

Words starting with 怎么

• 怎么样zěn me yànghow?; how about?; how was it?
• 怎么办zěn me bànwhat's to be done
• 怎么回事zěn me huí shìwhat's the matter?; what's going on?; how could that be?
• 怎么了zěn me leWhat's up?; What's going on?; What happened?
• 怎么着zěn me zhāowhat?; how?; how about?
• 怎么得了zěn me dé liǎohow can this be?; what's to be done?; what an awful mess!
• 怎么说呢zěn me shuō neWhy is that?; How come?
• 怎么搞的zěn me gǎo deHow did it happen?; What's wrong?; What went wrong?

Words containing 怎么

• 不怎么bù zěn menot very; not particularly
• 不怎么样bù zěn me yàngnot up to much; very indifferent; nothing great about it
• 再怎么zài zěn meno matter how ...

Where 怎么 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Question Words and Demonstratives (HSK 1), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 1 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zěn me correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.