怎么 + Verb
Reach for this when you want to ask HOW someone does something — the method, the means, the way. 'How do we go?' 'How do you make this?' 'How does she get to work?' It's the bread-and-butter how-question pattern in Chinese, used in directions, recipes, instructions, and casual curiosity. Place 怎么 right before the verb and you have a complete question.
Structure
[SUBJECT] 怎么 [VERB] ([OBJECT])？
zěnme + V
How to Think About It
怎么 lives directly in front of the verb and asks 'in what way?' It's positional — it doesn't move to the front of the sentence like English 'how.' '你怎么去？' is the natural order; English speakers want to write '怎么你去' because they think of 'how' as a fronted question word. The Chinese question word stays inside the sentence at the same slot the answer would take.
Examples
你怎么去学校？
Nǐ zěnme qù xuéxiào?
How do you get to school?
这个菜怎么做？
Zhège cài zěnme zuò?
How do you make this dish?
我们怎么联系他？
Wǒmen zěnme liánxì tā?
How do we contact him?
Common Mistake
Learners front-load 怎么 like English 'how' ('怎么我去？'), but in Chinese 怎么 sits right before the verb after the subject. The subject stays at the start.
怎么你去工作？
你怎么去工作？
Don't Confuse With
怎么样？
Asks about quality, condition, or opinion — 'how is it?' Use 怎么样 for evaluation ('饭怎么样？' how's the food); use 怎么 + V for method ('怎么做饭？' how do you cook?).
为什么 + V？
Asks WHY, not HOW. Use 为什么 to ask for a reason ('你为什么去？'); use 怎么 to ask for the means ('你怎么去？').
用什么 + V？
Asks specifically what tool or means — 'with what.' '用什么写？' = 'write with what?' Use 用什么 when you specifically want to know the instrument; use 怎么 for the broader 'how.'
Practice
你 ___ 来这里？
Show answer
怎么
这个字怎么 ___ ？
Show answer
写
Put in order: [怎么 / 这个 / 用 / 你]
Show answer
你怎么用这个？
Translate to Chinese: 'How do you say this in Chinese?'
Show answer
这个用中文怎么说？
Write one question using 怎么 + V asking how to do something.
Show answer
Example answer: 这个菜怎么吃？ (How do you eat this dish?)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 怎么 + Verb in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.