How, why, how is it: 怎么 / 为什么 / 怎么样 — Chinese Grammar

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Level 1 · Beginner

How, why, how is it: 怎么 / 为什么 / 怎么样

Subj. + 怎么 / 为什么 + Verb？ — Topic + 怎么样？ · Traditional: Subj. + 怎麼 / 為什麼 + Verb？ — Topic + 怎麼樣？

怎么 + verb asks how to do something: 怎么走？ "how do I get there?", 怎么说？ "how do you say it?". 为什么 asks why: 你为什么不去？ "why aren't you going?". 怎么样 sits at the end and asks how something is — 你的工作怎么样？ "how's your job?" — or floats a suggestion: 明天去，怎么样？ "how about tomorrow?"

Like 什么 and 谁, none of them jumps to the front the way English "how" and "why" do. 怎么 and 为什么 go right after the subject, before the verb. One heads-up: 怎么 said with surprise means "how come": 你怎么来了？ "how come you're here?"

Examples

你怎么去学校？

你怎麼去學校？

nǐ zěn me qù xué xiào

How do you get to school?

这个字怎么读？

這個字怎麼讀？

zhè ge zì zěn me dú

How do you read this character?

你为什么不吃？

你為什麼不吃？

nǐ wèi shén me bù chī

Why aren't you eating?

今天的天气怎么样？

今天的天氣怎麼樣？

jīn tiān de tiān qì zěn me yàng

How's the weather today?

Common mistakes

✗ 你怎么样去学校？

✓ 你怎么去学校？

"How do you do it" is plain 怎么 + verb; 怎么样 asks how something is.

Related grammar points

Question words stay in place

So …: 这么 / 那么

See it in a story

Read this pattern in context: Asking for Directions (Part 1) · Living to One Hundred — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.

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