什麼
简 什么 · 繁 什麼Meanings
- what?
- something; anything
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Mandarin tones
2–5 · shen2 me5
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
sam6 mo1
Cantonese word readings for 什麼. 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.
pron
- (interrogative) what
- something
- anything; whatever
- (used to express surprise or anger) what
- (used before an enumeration) thing like; such as; and so on; and what not
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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