"What" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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如何 rú hé how / what way / what
多么 duō me how (wonderful etc) / what (a great idea etc) / however (difficult it may be etc) / (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc) / to what extent
虾米 xiā mǐ small shrimp / dried, shelled shrimps / (Tw) (coll.) what (from Taiwanese 啥物, Tai-lo pr. [siánn-mih], equivalent to Mandarin 什麼|什么[shen2 me5])
啥子 shá zi (dialect) what
什么 shén me what? / something / anything
为什么 wèi shén me why? / for what reason?
怎样 zěn yàng how / what kind
多少 duō shao how much? / how many? / (phone number, student ID etc) what number?
无论 wú lùn no matter what or how / regardless of whether...
最好 zuì hǎo best / (you) had better (do what we suggest)
所谓 suǒ wèi so-called / what is called
可惜 kě xī it is a pity / what a pity / unfortunately
什么时候 shén me shí hou when? / at what time?
什么样 shén me yàng what kind? / what sort? / what appearance?
哪些 nǎ xiē which ones? / who? / what?
干什么 gàn shén me what are you doing? / what's he up to?
什么事 shén me shì what? / which?
什么是 shén me shì what is ...?
新增 xīn zēng newly added / additional / to add (to what already exists)
不论 bù lùn whatever / no matter what (who, how etc) / regardless of / not to discuss
不明白 bù míng bái does not understand / fails to realize (intuitively) what is going on
倒是 dào shi contrary to what one might expect / actually / contrariwise / why don't you
心得 xīn dé what one has learned (through experience, reading etc) / knowledge / insight / understanding / tips / CL:項|项[xiang4],個|个[ge4]
偏偏 piān piān (indicates that sth turns out just the opposite of what one would wish) unfortunately / as it happened / (indicates that sth is the opposite of what would be normal or reasonable) stubbornly / contrarily / against reason / (indicates that sb or a group is singled out) precisely / only / of all people
所得 suǒ dé what one acquires / one's gains
几点 jǐ diǎn what time? / when?
所能 suǒ néng according to one's capabilities / what sb is capable of
干嘛 gàn má what are you doing? / whatever for? / why on earth?
合计 hé jì to add up the total / to figure what sth amounts to / to consider
无论如何 wú lùn rú hé whatever the case / in any event / no matter what / by all possible means
这不 zhè bu (coll.) As a matter of fact, ... (used to introduce evidence for what one has just asserted)
闻言 wén yán to have heard what was said
制服 zhì fú to subdue / to check / to bring under control / (in former times) what one is allowed to wear depending on social status / uniform (army, party, school etc) / livery (for company employees) / CL:套[tao4]
所知 suǒ zhī known / what one knows
糟糕 zāo gāo too bad / how terrible / what bad luck / terrible / bad
所长 suǒ cháng what one is good at
不知所措 bù zhī suǒ cuò not knowing what to do (idiom) / at one's wits' end / embarrassed and at a complete loss
在那儿 zài na r (adverbial expression indicating that the attention of the subject of the verb is focused on what they are doing, not distracted by anything else) / just ...ing (and nothing else)
所见 suǒ jiàn (literary) what one sees / (literary) opinion / view
何等 hé děng what kind? / how, what / somewhat
底线 dǐ xiàn bottom line / the limit of what one is prepared to accept / (sports) baseline / (sewing) under thread / spy / informer / plant
所想 suǒ xiǎng what one considers / one's thoughts
实况 shí kuàng live (e.g. broadcast or recording) / what is actually happening / scene / the real situation
看不懂 kàn bu dǒng unable to make sense of what one is looking at
所为 suǒ wéi what one does / doings
听话 tīng huà to do what one is told / obedient
何在 hé zài where? / what place?
言行 yán xíng words and actions / what one says and what one does
听不懂 tīng bu dǒng unable to make sense of what one is hearing
标的 biāo dì target / aim / objective / what one hopes to gain
荣辱观 róng rǔ guān precepts regarding what is honorable and what is shameful (in particular, refers to the Socialist Concepts on Honors and Disgraces, PRC official moral principles promulgated from 2006) / abbr. for 社會主義榮辱觀|社会主义荣辱观 / also known as the Eight Honors and Eight Shames 八榮八恥|八荣八耻[Ba1 Rong2 Ba1 Chi3]
懂事 dǒng shì to grow beyond the naivete of childhood / to be aware of what is going on in the world / (esp. of a child) sensible / thoughtful / intelligent
任凭 rèn píng no matter what / despite / to allow (sb to act arbitrarily)
几时 jǐ shí what time? / when?
笔下 bǐ xià the wording and purport of what one writes
死活 sǐ huó life or death / fate / no matter what / anyway / for the life of me
好意思 hǎo yì si to have the nerve / what a cheek! / to feel no shame / to overcome the shame / (is it) proper? (rhetorical question)
见闻 jiàn wén what one has seen and heard / knowledge / one's experience
何谓 hé wèi (literary) what is? / what is the meaning of?
何去何从 hé qù hé cóng what course to follow / what path to take
看错 kàn cuò to misinterpret what one sees or reads / to misjudge (sb) / to mistake (sb for sb else) / to misread (a document)
得心应手 dé xīn yìng shǒu lit. what the heart wishes, the hand accomplishes (idiom) skilled at the job / entirely in one's element / going smoothly and easily
干啥 gàn shá do what?
言辞 yán cí words / expression / what one says
不管怎样 bù guǎn zěn yàng in any case / no matter what
听闻 tīng wén to listen / to hear what sb says / news one has heard
看懂 kàn dǒng to understand what one is reading or watching
怎的 zěn de what for / why / how
言谈 yán tán discourse / words / utterance / what one says / manner of speech
缘何 yuán hé why? / for what reason?
怎么着 zěn me zhāo what? / how? / how about? / whatever / also pr. [zen3 me5 zhe5]
何妨 hé fáng what harm is there in (doing sth)
手足无措 shǒu zú wú cuò at a loss to know what to do (idiom) / bewildered
见义勇为 jiàn yì yǒng wéi to see what is right and act courageously (idiom, from Analects) / to stand up bravely for the truth / acting heroically in a just cause
虚实 xū shí what is true and what is false / (to get to know) the real situation
何故 hé gù what for? / what's the reason?
心里话 xīn li huà (to express one's) true feelings / what is on one's mind / secret mind
瞎说 xiā shuō to talk drivel / to assert sth without a proper understanding or basis in fact / not to know what one is talking about
无所适从 wú suǒ shì cóng not knowing which course to follow (idiom) / at a loss what to do
所闻 suǒ wén heard / what one hears
所料 suǒ liào expectation / what one anticipates
后事 hòu shì future events / and what happened next... (in fiction) / funeral arrangements
所思 suǒ sī what one thinks / person or thing that is on one's mind
何乐而不为 hé lè ér bù wéi What can you have against it? (idiom) / We should do this. / Go for it!
钱庄 qián zhuāng old-style money shop (a type of private bank that first appeared in the Ming dynasty, flourished in the Qing, and was phased out after 1949) / (in recent times) informal financial company, often operating at the edges of what is legal
别管 bié guǎn no matter (who, what etc)
身体力行 shēn tǐ lì xíng to practice what one preaches (idiom)
所见即所得 suǒ jiàn jí suǒ dé What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)
不知所云 bù zhī suǒ yún to not know what sb is driving at / to be unintelligible
出格 chū gé to overstep the bounds of what is proper / to take sth too far / (of a measuring device) to go off the scale
求之不得 qiú zhī bù dé lit. seek but fail to get (idiom) / fig. exactly what one’s been looking for
贵姓 guì xìng what is your surname? / (May I ask) your surname?
听信 tīng xìn to listen to information / to get the news / to believe what one hears
口风 kǒu fēng meaning behind the words / what sb really means to say / one's intentions as revealed in one's words / tone of speech
何许 hé xǔ (literary) what place / what time / how
量力而行 liàng lì ér xíng to assess one's capabilities and act accordingly (idiom) / to act within one's competence / One does what one can.
取长补短 qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius) / to use this in place of that / what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts
多 duō many / much / often / a lot of / numerous / more / in excess / how (to what extent) / multi- / Taiwan pr. [duo2] when it means "how"
知难而退 zhī nán ér tuì to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat (idiom) / fig. to back out of an awkward situation / to get out on finding out what it's really like
识货 shí huò to know what's what
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