Meaning of 干什么
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- what are you doing?
- what's he up to?
How to use 干什么
干什么 is a very common spoken way to ask what someone is doing or plans to do. It goes after the subject, and you can add 呢 (ne) for a softer tone. Example: 你在干什么呢？(Nǐ zài gàn shénme ne?) What are you doing?
Think of 干 (gàn) as "do" and 什么 (shénme) as "what," so 干什么 is literally "do what." Picture someone pointing at you and asking "Do what?" to mean "What are you doing?"
Common mistake: The 干 in 干什么 is fourth tone gàn, but learners often read it as first tone gān because of 干净 (gānjìng, clean). Also, 干什么 can sound rude or annoyed in some contexts, like "What do you think you're doing?", so tone of voice matters.
干什么 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
干 gān · dry · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
什 shén · what? mixed · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
么 me · interrogative particle · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 干什么.
| 什么 | shénme | what?; something; anything |
| 怎么 | zěnme | how?; what? |
| 没什么 | méi shénme | it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're |
| 干净 | gānjìng | clean; neat |
| 为什么 | wèi shénme | why?; for what reason? |
| 这么 | zhème | so much; this much |
| 那么 | nàme | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ... |
| 怎么样 | zěnmeyàng | how?; how about? |
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what's to be done |
| 多么 | duōme | how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc) |
| 什么样 | shénmeyàng | what kind?; what sort? |
| 干杯 | gānbēi | to drink a toast; Cheers! (proposing a toast) |
Questions about 干什么
What does 干什么 mean?
干什么 (gàn shénme) means "what are you doing?; what's he up to?".
How do you write 干什么?
干什么 is made of 3 characters: 干 (3 strokes), 什 (4 strokes), 么 (3 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 干什么 an HSK word?
Yes. 干什么 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 干什么 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 干什么 is written 幹什麼.
What is the difference between 干什么 and 做什么?
Both mean "do what." 做什么 (zuò shénme) is a bit more neutral and common in writing, while 干什么 is more casual and typical of northern spoken Mandarin.
Can 干什么 mean "why"?
Yes. In speech it often means "why" or "what for," usually with a hint of complaint. For example, 你干什么不早说？(Nǐ gàn shénme bù zǎo shuō?) means "Why didn't you say so earlier?"