什么
shén me
ZH
what (interrogative pronoun used to ask about things, content, or nature)
你在做什么？
What are you doing?
Etymology
It originated in old Chinese as an interrogative word. Originally written with the character 甚, the simplified modern form 什么 became standard by the 20th century.
Memory Aid
The two characters literally mean 'what thing', so associate them together to remember this common question word.
Collocations
干什么是什么吃什么什么地方为什么
Synonyms
啥何物
Related Words
谁哪里哪何时