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怎麼

简怎么 · 繁怎麼

Mandarin · pinyin zěn me

how?
what?
why?

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Characters in this entry

怎: zěn · what? why? how?
麼: me · interrogative final particle; insignificant, small, tiny
么: me · interrogative particle; small

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–5 · zen3 me5

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3character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

怎麼 · find source passages ↗ · 怎么 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zam2 mo1

Cantonese word readings for 怎麼. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adv

(Mandarin) how
(Mandarin) how come; why
(Mandarin) in what way; what
(Mandarin) used to indicate a degree, usually of inadequacy or inferiority

verb

(Mandarin) to do or become in what way

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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