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 “what” is什么 written in simplified form. In Mandarin Chinese, its pinyin is "shén me." Most commonly used as a question word, 什么 can also be used in certain statements. For example, 没什么 (méi shénme) translates to "it doesn’t matter" or "it's nothing." 什么 (shénme) 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: 什么. The first character 什 (shén) can mean “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, 什么 means "what." Pronunciation 什 (shén) is pronounced in the 2nd tone. This is a rising tone that starts from a lower pitch then rises upwards. On the other hand, 么 is an unaccented word. Thus, in terms of tones, the Chinese term for "what" can be written as "shen2 me." Sentence Examples Using Shénme 你要吃什么? (nǐ yào chī shénme) = What do you want to eat? 什么地方比较好玩? (shénme dìfang bǐjiào hǎo wán) = What place is fun? 这是 什么意思? (zhè shì shénme yìsi) = What does it mean? / What is the meaning? 你现在在做什么？(nǐ xiànzài zài zuò shénme) = What are you doing right now? Other Meanings 什么 can also have other meanings. Before a noun or by itself it means “what”. Before 也 or 都 the meaning is “any, every, something or anything”. # Our teachers # More than 10 years teaching experience Master Degree Certificate for teaching chinese as a foreign language   # About us # Founded in 2007 Chinese test and training center 200+ Chinese teachers 5000+ students  # Contact us# Name:fiona Phone number:021-52287809,13918358891 E-mail:info@mandarinmorning.com www.mandarinmorning.com If you are interested to join Mandarin Morning school or want more details about our services, scan the following QR code. ☟   Mandarin Morning Chinese test center attached to Confucius institute headquarters Authorized Test Center and Training Center for International Chinese Language Teacher Certificater 10 years+ ，200 teachers ，more 10000 students，200+companies  |
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