什 shén / shí — what; tenth (used in fractions)
你在看什么书？Nǐ zài kàn shén me shū?What book are you reading?
Common words: 什么 (shén me)、没什么 (méi shén me)、干什么 (gàn shén me)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "what"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "what", including 什 (shén / shí), 何 (hé), 啥 (shá). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "what" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 什 (shén / shí), 何 (hé), 啥 (shá) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span shén, shí, hé, shá — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 什 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 什 shén / shíwhat; tenth (used in fractions)Useful words: 什么, 没什么
- 何 hécarry; what; how; why; whichUseful words: 任何, 如何
- 啥 shá(dialect) whatUseful words: 为啥, 啥子
Common words for these 3 "what" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 什 (shén / shí) — so "what" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
什么shén mewhat?; something; anything没什么méi shén meit doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it干什么gàn shén mewhat are you doing?; what's he up to?任何rèn héany; whatever; whichever如何rú héhow; what way; what何必hé bìthere is no need; why should为啥wèi shádialectal equivalent of 为什么啥子shá zi(dialect) what呒啥m shádialectal equivalent of 没什么
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "what".
何 hé — carry; what; how; why; which
你为何这么晚才来？Nǐ wèi hé zhè me wǎn cái lái?Why did you come so late?
Common words: 任何 (rèn hé)、如何 (rú hé)、何必 (hé bì)
啥 shá — (dialect) what
你刚才说啥？我没听清楚。Nǐ gāng cái shuō shá? Wǒ méi tīng qīng chu.What did you just say? I did not hear clearly.
Common words: 为啥 (wèi shá)、啥子 (shá zi)、呒啥 (m shá)
All 3 characters
Open 什、何、啥 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.