怎麼

See also: 怎麽 and 怎么

Chinese

	how	dimi.
trad. (怎麼/怎麽)	怎	麼/麽
simp. (怎么)	怎	么
alternative forms	腫麼／肿么 slang

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zěnme, zěm

(Zhuyin): ㄗㄣˇ ˙ㄇㄜ, ㄗㄜㄇˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zam² mo¹
Hakka (Meixian, Guangdong): zên¹ mo²
Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): za² moh⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zěnme
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄣˇ ˙ㄇㄜ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zěnme̊
  - Wade–Giles: tsên³-mê⁵
  - Yale: dzěn-me
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzeen.me
  - Palladius: цзэньмэ (czɛnʹmɛ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sən²¹⁴ mə⁴/
- (Standard Chinese, contraction)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zěm
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄜㄇˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zěm
  - Wade–Giles: tsêm³
  - Yale: dzěm
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: zem3
  - Palladius: цзэм (czɛm)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡səm²¹⁴/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zam² mo¹
  - Yale: jám mō
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzam² mo¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: zem² mo¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɐm³⁵ mɔː⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: zên¹ mo²
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sɛn⁴⁴⁻³⁵ mo¹¹/
Southern Min
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: za² moh⁴
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsá moh
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sa⁵²⁻³⁵ moʔ²/

Adverb

怎麼 (chiefly Mandarin)

how
北京怎麼去？／北京怎么去？ ― Běijīng zěnme qù? ― How do you get to Beijing?

「動人」用英文怎麼說？ [MSC, trad.]
「动人」用英文怎么说？ [MSC, simp.]
“Dòngrén” yòng yīngwén zěnme shuō? [Pinyin]
How do you say dòngrén in English?

這是怎麼回事呀？ [MSC, trad.]
这是怎么回事呀？ [MSC, simp.]
Zhè shì zěnme huí shì ya? [Pinyin]
How did this happen?

怎麼會這樣呢？／怎么会这样呢？ ― Zěnme huì zhèyàng ne? ― How could that be?
how come; why
他今天怎麼沒來上學？ [MSC, trad.]
他今天怎么没来上学？ [MSC, simp.]
Tā jīntiān zěnme méi lái shàngxué? [Pinyin]
How come he didn't come to school today?

你怎麼花了那麼長時間啊？ [MSC, trad.]
你怎么花了那么长时间啊？ [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ zěnme huā le nàme cháng shíjiān a? [Pinyin]
Why did it take you so long?
in what way; what
我是怎麼跟你說的？ [MSC, trad.]
我是怎么跟你说的？ [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ shì zěnme gēn nǐ shuō de? [Pinyin]
What did I tell you?

閉嘴，我怎麼說你就怎麼辦！ [MSC, trad.]
闭嘴，我怎么说你就怎么办！ [MSC, simp.]
Bìzuǐ, wǒ zěnme shuō nǐ jiù zěnme bàn! [Pinyin]
Shut up and do what I say!
used to indicate a degree, usually of inadequacy or inferiority
我的女兒現在三歲，還都不怎麼會寫字。 [MSC, trad.]
我的女儿现在三岁，还都不怎么会写字。 [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ de nǚ'ér xiànzài sān suì, hái dōu bù zěnme huì xiězì. [Pinyin]
My daughter is just three years old and cannot write anything very well.

我很喜歡唱歌，但是我還不怎麼會唱。 [MSC, trad.]
我很喜欢唱歌，但是我还不怎么会唱。 [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ hěn xǐhuān chànggē, dànshì wǒ hái bù zěnme huì chàng. [Pinyin]
I love singing, but I'm not very good at it.

我現在還不怎麼會打網球，但是在老師的教導下，一定能提高我的水平！ [MSC, trad.]
我现在还不怎么会打网球，但是在老师的教导下，一定能提高我的水平！ [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ xiànzài hái bù zěnme huì dǎ wǎngqiú, dànshì zài lǎoshī de jiàodǎo xià, yīdìng néng tígāo wǒ de shuǐpíng! [Pinyin]
I'm not that great at tennis now, but I will definitely improve under my teacher's guidance!

Verb

怎麼 (chiefly Mandarin)

to do or become in what way
你怎麼了？／你怎么了？ ― Nǐ zěnme le? ― (“In what way did you go?”) What happened to you?

我怎麼你了？／我怎么你了？ ― Wǒ zěnme nǐ le? ― (“What in a specific way did I do to you?”) What did I do to you?

Synonyms

(how; why): 怎生 (zěnshēng) (obsolete)

Dialectal synonyms of 怎麼 (“how”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		何, 如何
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		怎麼
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	怎麼
	Taiwan	怎麼
	Singapore	怎麼
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	怎麼
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	咋, 咋樣兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	咋, 咋的個, 咋麼, 咋麼個
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	咋, 咋個, 啷個
	Chongqing	啷個
	Wuhan	麼, 麼樣, 哪樣
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	井幹
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	怎樣, 怎
Cantonese	Guangzhou	點, 點樣
	Hong Kong	點, 點樣
	Taishan	幾何
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	點
	Singapore (Guangfu)	點
Gan	Nanchang	啷, 啷樣
Hakka	Meixian	仰般, 仰仔
	Wuhua (Meilin)	仰般
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	仰來
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	仰般, 仰仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	仰仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	仰般
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	仰脣, 仰
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	仰般, 仰般形
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	仰子
Huizhou	Jixi	采翹
Jin	Taiyuan	咋, 咋底
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	怎怎, 怎, 怎其
	Fuqing	安難, 怎生
	Singapore (Fuqing)	安難
Southern Min	Xiamen	按怎, 怎影
	Taipei	按怎
	Penang (Hokkien)	按怎
	Singapore (Hokkien)	按怎
	Manila (Hokkien)	障仔, 按怎, 怎
	Chaozhou	在生, 乜生, 做呢, 做物
	Raoping	做呢
	Shantou	做呢
	Jieyang	做呢
	Haifeng	做呢
	Singapore (Teochew)	做呢, 做物
	Batam (Teochew)	做呢物, 做物
	Wenchang	怎作, 作乜
	Haikou	咋作
	Singapore (Hainanese)	怎作
Wu	Shanghai	哪能
	Suzhou	捺亨
	Ningbo	咋, 咋貌, 咋貌介
	Wenzhou	訾那, 訾那能
Xiang	Changsha	何什, 何裡
Xiang	Shuangfeng	麼家

Derived terms

不怎麼樣／不怎么样 (bùzěnmeyàng)
怎麼了／怎么了 (zěnme le)
怎麼得了／怎么得了 (zěnme déliǎo)
怎麼樣／怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)
怎麼著／怎么着
怎麼辦／怎么办 (zěnmebàn)
愛怎麼怎麼著／爱怎么怎么着 (ài zěnme zěnme zhāo)
愛怎麼著怎麼著／爱怎么着怎么着 (ài zěnme zhāo zěnme zhāo)
看怎麼說／看怎么说 (kàn zěnme shuō)