Level 1 Lesson 27.1 – What Happened To You? Doctor, Hospital, Medicine

Grammar 1: What's Wrong / What Happened in Chinese with 怎么了 · HSK 1

We have learned that 怎么 zěnme  is a Question Pronoun asking about (1) manner or method - how or (2) reason - how come, and 了 le is a Modal Particle suggesting an event, an action has already happened or or a state has been realized.

When we put them together, by using 怎么了 zěnmele, we ask what's wrong / what happened in Chinese. The logic behind it is like this: 了 suggests something has happened, and 怎么 tries to ask how and why.

We usually use this structure:

someone/something + 怎么了

For example,

• zhèwèi bìngrén zěnmele
  这位病人怎么了？
  this "wei" (of) patient what happened (to them)
• nǐde gǒu zěnme le
  你的狗怎么了？
  your dog what happened (to it)
• zhèr de tiānqì zěnmele
  这儿的天气怎么了？
  the weather here what's wrong (with it)

怎么了 can be used in the following structure as well:

something/someone 怎么 + Predicate + 了

When used separately, 怎么 is asking how come, and 了 is used after the Predicate to suggest a "new situation". For example,

• tā zěnme shēngbìng le
  他怎么生病了？
  how come he is sick (now)
• tā zuótiān zěnme qù yīyuàn le
  她昨天怎么去医院了？
  how come she (had) gone to the hospital yesterday?

• tā zěnme bù gāoxìng le
  他怎么不高兴了？
  how come he (is) unhappy (now)
• yèzi zěnme hóngle
  叶子怎么红了？
  how come the leaves (are) red (now)

Grammar 2: 怎么样了 vs. 怎么样 in Chinese · HSK 1

We also learned that 怎么样 zěnmeyàng can be used to ask (1) how about doing something (2) how is something/someone. With 怎么样了 zěnmeyàng le, we can ask questions like how is something/someone now, suggesting that there is a "new situation".

We can use this structure:

someone/something + 怎么样了

For example,

• tāde bìng zěnmeyàng le
  他的病怎么样了？
  his sickness, how is (it) (now)
  [how is his sickness now]
• nǐ hé nǐde nǚpéngyou zěnmeyàng le
  你和你的女朋友怎么样了？
  you and your girlfriend, how are (you guys) (now)
  [how are you and your girlfriend now]
• nǐ xiànzài zài Zhōngguó zěnmeyàng le
  你现在在中国怎么样了？
  you now in China, how are (you) (now)
  [how's your life in China now]

Grammar 3: Phrase 不怎么样 in Chinese · HSK 1

If someone asks us a question with 怎么样 or 怎么样了, and we want to give a negative or "not so good" opinion, we can use the phrase 不怎么样 bù zěnmeyàng to mean not so good, not so well.

For example,

Q: tāde Zhōngwén zěnmeyàng le
      他的中文怎么样了？
      his Chinese, how is (it) (now)
A: bù zěnmeyàng
      不怎么样。
      not so good

Q: nǐ hé nǐ nánpéngyou zěnmeyàng le
      你和你男朋友怎么样了？
      you and your boyfriend, how are (you guys) (now)
A: bù zěnmeyàng
      不怎么样。
      not so well

Q: jīntiān de tiānqì zěnmeyàng
      今天的天气怎么样？
      today's weather, how is (it)
A: bù zěnmeyàng
      不怎么样。
      not so good

Grammar 4: Go See A Doctor in Chinese 看病 vs. 看医生 · HSK 1

In English we say "go see a doctor". The literal translation would be 看医生 kàn yīshēng in Chinese. However, 看病 kànbìng, which literally means "to see the sickness" is more commonly used when people want to go to a hospital and see a doctor.

If we say 看医生, people can understand, but 看病 is more native for the phrase go see a doctor in Chinese.