Writing
什么 (shénme) — how to say "what? which?" in Chinese
什么
What? which?
question word
How to use it
Goes where the answer would be; the word order doesn't change.
这是什么？
zhè shì shén me
What is this?
Character composition
什
what
么
particle
Radicals / Keys
丿
Slash
#4 · piě · 1 stroke
人
Man
#9 · rén · 2 strokes
Synonyms
Examples
你想吃什么？我想吃米饭。
What do you want to eat? I want to eat rice.
你叫什么
What's your name?
Mnemonic
[shénme-] Sherlock Holmes is asking questions: "What is this 什 thing in my house? And why is it so 么 puzzling?" 🤔 The moment he sees the Chinese character 什么, he smirks, realizing he has cracked the case.
Frequently asked questions
Chinese word for which
"what? which?" in Chinese is 什么 (shénme).
什么 meaning in English
什么 (shénme) means "What? which?".
How is 什么 pronounced?
It is pronounced shénme (written as shenme). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "what? which?" in Chinese characters?
It is written 什么: 什 has 4 strokes, 么 has 3 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 什么?
什么 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 什么
什么 — question words
什么 (shénme) / 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu) / 谁 (shéi) / 哪儿 (nǎr) / 为什么 (wèishéme) / 怎么 (zěnme)
什么 都 — everything
什么 (shénme) + 都 (dōu) / 也 (yě)⋯⋯
呢 — question particle
⋯⋯呢 (ne)?
什么 — something/somewhere/sometime
Question word in the position of an indefinite object / place / time
什么的 — and stuff like that
Noun 1, Noun 2 + 什么的 (shénme de)
无论 — no matter what
无论 (wúlùn) / 不论 (bùlùn)⋯⋯，都 (dōu) / 也 (yě)⋯⋯