什么
what; what kind of
shénme
What does 什么 mean?
什么 (shénme) is the Chinese question word 'what.' Three uses cover almost everything: (1) standalone — 这是什么？('what is this?'); (2) before a noun to ask 'what kind of' — 什么书 ('what book / what kind of book'), 什么时候 ('what time / when'), 什么人 ('what kind of person'); (3) as an indefinite 'anything / something' in non-question contexts — 我什么都不知道 ('I don't know anything'). Unlike English, Chinese question words STAY in their normal sentence position — you do NOT move them to the front. 'What are you eating?' is 你吃什么？ (literally 'you eat what?') — never 什么你吃. The 么 is toneless. The whole word is often pronounced casually as 'shěme' or 'shémo' in fast speech.
Character breakdown
what (used almost exclusively in 什么)
interrogative suffix (toneless); also in 怎么, 那么, 多么
Example sentences
你叫什么名字？
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
What's your name?
spoken
这是什么？
Zhè shì shénme?
What is this?
spoken
你想吃什么？
Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?
What do you want to eat?
spoken
为什么？
Wèi shénme?
Why?
spoken
Common phrases with 什么
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
什么 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
啥 is the very casual / northern-dialect version of 什么. Common in spoken speech, especially in northern China. Avoid 啥 in writing or formal contexts; use 什么.
Don't confuse 什么 with
怎么 asks 'how' (manner) or 'why' (puzzled). 什么 asks 'what' (identity/content). 你怎么去? = how do you get there; 你去什么地方? = what place are you going to.
哪 (or 哪个) asks 'which' — selecting from a known set. 什么 asks 'what' — open question with no presumed set. 你想吃什么? = what do you want to eat (anything); 你想吃哪个? = which one do you want.