怎 meaning and stroke order
What? why? how?
How to write 怎, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 9
Meaning of 怎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- how
How 怎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
心 gives the meaning and 乍 hints at the sound.
Radical: 心 (heart), shared by 97 characters on this site.
How to remember 怎
怎 has 乍 (zhà) on top, which hints at the sound, and 心 (xīn, heart) below for meaning. Picture your heart asking a question: how? why? what?
怎 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. It lives inside question words like 怎么 (zěnme) and 怎样 (zěnyàng), placed before a verb to ask how something is done. Example: 这个字怎么写？(Zhège zì zěnme xiě?) How do you write this character?
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 怎 with 作 (zuò) or 昨 (zuó) because they share 乍. Only 怎 has 心 underneath, and only 怎 is a question word. Also keep the third tone: zěn, not zēn or zèn.
Common words with 怎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 怎么 | zěnme | how?; what? | HSK 1 |
| 怎么样 | zěnmeyàng | how?; how about? | HSK 2 |
| 怎样 | zěnyàng | how; what kind | HSK 2 |
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what's to be done | HSK 2 |
| 不怎么 | bùzěnme | not very; not particularly | HSK 6 |
| 不怎么样 | bùzěnmeyàng | not up to much; very indifferent | HSK 6 |
| 怎么回事 | zěnmehuíshì | what's the matter?; what's going on? | |
| 不管怎样 | bùguǎnzěnyàng | in any case; no matter what | |
| 怎能 | zěnnéng | how can? | |
| 怎么着 | zěnmezhāo | what?; how? |
怎 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 怎
How many strokes are in 怎?
怎 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 怎 mean?
怎 (zěn) means what? why? how?. A common word with it is 怎么 (zěnme), meaning "how?; what?".
How do you pronounce 怎?
怎 is pronounced zěn, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 怎?
The radical of 怎 is 心, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 怎 under this radical.
Is 怎 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 怎 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 怎么 and 为什么?
为什么 (wèishénme) always asks why. 怎么 usually asks how, but before a verb it can also ask why with a tone of surprise, as in 你怎么没来？(Nǐ zěnme méi lái?) How come you didn't come?
How is 怎么样 different from 怎么?
怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) often stands at the end of a sentence to ask how something is or to make a suggestion, as in 明天去，怎么样？(Míngtiān qù, zěnmeyàng?) How about going tomorrow? 怎么 usually comes before a verb to ask about the way of doing it.