怎麼怎么 zěnme goes before a verb to ask about the way something is done, or “how come” when followed by a negative. 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng goes at the end to ask how something is, or to ask for someone’s opinion on a suggestion.
1How to Do Something — 怎麼怎么 zěnme + Verb
Put 怎麼怎么 zěnme right before a verb to ask about the way or method of doing something: “how do you…?” Just like other question words, the answer (the method) goes exactly where 怎麼怎么 zěnme was.
Subject + 怎麼怎么 zěnme + Verb (+ Object)？
| Subject | How | Verb | Place |
|---|
| Question | 你 nǐ | 怎麼怎么 zěnme | 去 qù | 學校学校 xuéxiào？ |
| You | how | go to | school? |
| Answer | 我 wǒ | 坐公車 zuò gōngchē坐公交车 zuò gōngjiāochē | 去 qù | 學校学校 xuéxiào |
| I | by bus | go to | school. |
Q你的名字怎麼寫？你的名字怎么写？
How do you write your name?
A我的名字這樣寫。我的名字这样写。
My name is written like this.
Q你怎麼去學校？你怎么去学校？
How do you get to school?
A我坐公車去學校。我坐公交车去学校。
I go to school by bus.
Good to Know
“Bus” is 公車公车 gōngchē in Taiwan and 公交車公交车 gōngjiāochē in Mainland China. Switch the text display to see both versions of the example.
2How Come? — 怎麼怎么 zěnme + 不 bù / 沒没 méi + Verb
When 怎麼怎么 zěnme comes before a negative (不 bù or 沒没 méi), it no longer asks about method — it means “how come…?” and shows that the speaker is surprised something isn’t happening, or didn’t happen.
Subject + 怎麼怎么 zěnme + 不 bù / 沒没 méi + Verb？
Q他怎麼沒來上班？他怎么没来上班？
How come he didn’t come to work?
A他生病了。他生病了。
He’s sick.
3How Is It? — Subject + 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng
怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng at the end of a question asks about the condition or quality of something — “How is it?” or “How was it?”
Subject + 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng？
Q你的中文課怎麼樣？你的中文课怎么样？
How was your Chinese class?
A我的中文課很好。我的中文课很好。
My Chinese class was great.
Q今天天氣怎麼樣？今天天气怎么样？
How is the weather today?
A今天天氣很好。今天天气很好。
The weather is nice today.
Q昨天的電影怎麼樣？昨天的电影怎么样？
How was the movie yesterday?
A很好看。很好看。
It was really good.
你的新工作怎麼樣？你的新工作怎么样？
How is your new job?
Tiffany的課怎麼樣？Tiffany的课怎么样？
How is Tiffany’s class?
你的感冒好了嗎？現在覺得怎麼樣？你的感冒好了吗？现在觉得怎么样？
Is your cold better? How do you feel now?
4What Do You Think? — Statement + 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng
Add 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng after a suggestion or plan to ask for the other person’s opinion: “What do you think?” or “How about…?” A comma separates the suggestion from 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng.
Statement，怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng？
我星期一有事，我們星期三見，怎麼樣？我星期一有事，我们星期三见，怎么样？
I have something on Monday. Let’s meet on Wednesday — how does that sound?
今天晚餐吃火鍋，怎麼樣？今天晚餐吃火锅，怎么样？
Hotpot for dinner tonight — how does that sound?
九月一起去南京玩，怎麼樣？九月一起去南京玩，怎么样？
Let’s go to Nanjing together in September — what do you think?
Good to Know
In this “what do you think?” use, you may also see 如何 rúhé in place of 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng. 如何 rúhé is more formal, and it’s also popular in text messages because it’s shorter. In everyday speech, 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng is the natural choice.
5Common Mistakes
❌你的新工作怎麼？你的新工作怎么？
✅你的新工作怎麼樣？你的新工作怎么样？
To ask “how is it?”, use 怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng at the end. 怎麼怎么 zěnme needs a verb after it.
❌我們星期三見，怎麼樣嗎？我们星期三见，怎么样吗？
✅我們星期三見，怎麼樣？我们星期三见，怎么样？
怎麼樣怎么样 zěnmeyàng is already a question word, so don’t add 嗎吗 ma after it.
❌你去學校怎麼？你去学校怎么？
✅你怎麼去學校？你怎么去学校？
怎麼怎么 zěnme goes before the verb it asks about, not at the end of the sentence.
6Practice
How would you say these in Chinese? Tap each card to check your answer.
01How do you say this in Chinese?
這個中文怎麼說？这个中文怎么说？
👆 Tap to reveal
02How do we get to the train station?
我們怎麼去火車站？我们怎么去火车站？
👆 Tap to reveal
03How do you make this?
這個怎麼做？这个怎么做？
👆 Tap to reveal
04How come you didn’t come?
你怎麼沒來？你怎么没来？
👆 Tap to reveal
05How come he isn’t eating?
他怎麼不吃飯？他怎么不吃饭？
👆 Tap to reveal
06How is the food here?
這裡的菜怎麼樣？这里的菜怎么样？
👆 Tap to reveal
07How is your mom doing?
你媽媽怎麼樣？你妈妈怎么样？
👆 Tap to reveal
08Let’s go eat dumplings tomorrow — how about it?
我們明天去吃餃子，怎麼樣？我们明天去吃饺子，怎么样？
👆 Tap to reveal
