HSK 1 · Question Words

怎么样 zěnmeyàng “how is it” in Chinese

Traditional 怎麼樣

What 怎么样 means

  1. how is it
  2. how?
  3. how about?
  4. how was it?
  5. how are things?

How to say 怎么样

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale怎zěn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own么meneutral tone, light and short
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale样yàng4th tone, falling

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

怎么样 in a sentence

  1. 你觉得怎么样？

    Nǐ juéde zěnmeyàng?

    How do you like it?

    Sentence #336719 from Tatoeba

  2. 你今天怎么样？

    Nǐ jīntiān zěnmeyàng?

    How are you doing today?

    Sentence #388517 from Tatoeba

  3. 学校怎么样？

    Xuéxiào zěnmeyàng?

    How’s school?

    Sentence #5096478 from Tatoeba

How 怎么样 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 怎 (zěn) with each of its parts in a different colour
怎zěnhow
  • 乍first time · zhàSound part
  • 心heart · xīnMeaning part

心 hints at the meaning (heart); 乍 (zhà) hints at the sound. Compare it with zěn.

The character 么 (me) with each of its parts in a different colour
么mesuffix, used to form interrogative 什么
  • 丿slash · piě
  • 厶private · sī
The character 样 (yàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
样yàngmanner
  • 木tree · mùMeaning part
  • 羊sheep · yángSound part

木 hints at the meaning (tree); 羊 (yáng) hints at the sound. Compare it with yàng.

How to write 怎么样

怎 9 strokes · 么 3 strokes · 样 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 怎么样

Words with 怎

怎么zěnme · how怎样zěnyàng · how怎么办zěnmebàn · what should I do?

Words with 么

什么shénme · what怎么zěnme · how那么nàme · like that这么zhème · so much为什么wèishénme · why多么duōme · how怎么办zěnmebàn · what should I do?

Words with 样

那样nàyàng · that kind这样zhèyàng · this kind of一样yíyàng · the same怎样zěnyàng · how样子yàngzi · appearance同样tóngyàng · likewise样式yàngshì · type模样múyàng · appearance样品yàngpǐn · sample榜样bǎngyàng · role model

More words: Question Words

什么shénme · what哪nǎ · which哪儿nǎr · where怎么zěnme · how几jǐ · how many (small)多少duōshǎo · how many哪里nǎlǐ · where?哪个nǎge · which one?

FAQs

怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) means “how is it” or “how?”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it zěnmeyàng: zěn with a 3rd tone, then me with a neutral tone, then yàng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 怎么样 is written 怎麼樣. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zenmeyang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 怎么样 from the suggestions. Typing zenmeyang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
怎么样 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.