什么
shénme
What? which?
Where to place 什么 (shénme) and other question words in Chinese
什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme)
什么 (shí mó) — question words
HSK 1Question Forms
什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme)
HSK 1Question Forms什么 (shí mó) — question words
Rule structure
Interrogative words such as 什么 (shénme), 谁 (shéi), 哪儿 (nǎ ér) (nǎr), 怎么 (zěnme), etc., occupy the same position in the sentence as the expected answer. So, interrogative words are integrated into the standard word order and take the place of the parts of the sentence they refer to.
Rule structure
Interrogative words such as 什么 (shénme), 谁 (shéi), 哪儿 (nǎ ér) (nǎr), 怎么 (zěnme), etc., occupy the same position in the sentence as the expected answer. So, interrogative words are integrated into the standard word order and take the place of the parts of the sentence they refer to.
Examples
你什么时候来？
Nǐ shénme shíhòu lái?
When will you come?
他为什么不来？
Tā wèishénme bù lái?
Why doesn’t he come?
你为什么学习中文？
Nǐ wèishénme xuéxí zhōngwén?
Why do you study Chinese?
Examples
你什么时候来？
Nǐ shénme shíhòu lái?
When will you come?
他为什么不来？
Tā wèishénme bù lái?
Why doesn’t he come?
你为什么学习中文？
Nǐ wèishénme xuéxí zhōngwén?
Why do you study Chinese?
Practice
Build the sentence
Drag the characters to put them in the correct order
Characters
Words from this rule
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “question words” in Chinese with 什么?
Use the structure: 什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme). For example: 你什么时候来？ — “When will you come?”.
What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?
你什么时候来？ — “When will you come?”.
Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?
This grammar rule is part of HSK 1.
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More HSK 1 grammar rules
了吗 — questions with 了吗
Verb + 了 (le) + 吗 (ma)？
怎么样 — how is it?
⋯⋯怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)？
吗 — yes-no questions
Statement + 吗 (ma)？
是 — “is” in Chinese
A + 是 (shì) + B
来 vs 去 — coming and going
来 (lái) / 去 (qù) + Place
星期 — days of the week
星期 (xīngqī) + Number
时间 — time words and word order
Subj. + Time … / Time + Subj. …
在 — actions in progress
(正 (zhèng)) 在 (zài) + Verb