什么(shén me)

HSK 12 charactersTrad. 什麼

what?

Character breakdown

Watch how each character of 什么 is written, one at a time. When a character is finished, the next one draws.

whatFull guide →
exclamatory final particleFull guide →
Example sentences

How 什么 is used in everyday Chinese — the speaker reads the whole sentence.

  • 你做什么工作?

    nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò

    What's your job?

  • 你早餐吃什么

    nǐ zǎo cān chī shén me

    What do you have for breakfast?

Ready to master 什么?

Trace every character of 什么 stroke by stroke in the online practice tool, or turn it into a printable worksheet PDF with Tianzige practice grids and pinyin.