8 Ways to Say What Are You Doing in Chinese

HOW TO SAY WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN CHINESE

One of the common ways to say hello to a friend in Chinese is by asking “what are you doing”. It’s almost like saying “how are you” in English, where you don’t necessarily expect an answer. Instead, it’s just an expression people use to greet each other. Watch this video and learn 8 ways of how to say what are you doing in Chinese!

LESSON NOTES

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How to Say What Are You Doing in Chinese

1. 你在做什么

pinyin. nǐ zài zuò shén me literal. what are you doing liberal. what are you doing
One of the common ways to say “Hi” in Chinese is to say “What are you doing”. The standard way to say what are you doing in Chinese is 你在做什么. It is the expression that you would expect to see in a textbook, or in a dictionary.

2. 你在干什么

pinyin. nǐ zài gàn shén me literal. what are you doing liberal. what are you doing
Compared with 你在做什么, you might hear 你在干什么 more in daily conversation. It is most often used in spoken language.

How to Say What Are You Doing in Mandarin Chinese in a More Casual Way

3. 你在干嘛呢

pinyin. nǐ zài gàn má ne literal. what are you doing liberal. what are you doing
How to say what are you doing in Chinese to a close friend? You can use 你在干嘛呢. It also has two short forms: 你干嘛呢 or 干嘛呢.

4. 干嘛呢你

pinyin. gàn má ne nǐ literal. what are you doing liberal.what are you doing
Normally, in Chinese the sentence word order is “SUBJECT – VERB – OBJECT“, but sometimes for emphasis or other purposes, people put the subject at the end of a sentence. So we can also say what are you doing by saying 干嘛你呢.

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How to Say Do You Have Any Plans in Chinese

5. 你有安排了吗

pinyin. nǐ yǒu ‘ān pái le ma literal. you have plans? liberal. do you have plans
If it’s on a specific day, you can ask 你____有安排了吗, putting the TIME WORD in the blank. Here are some examples:

• 你今天有安排了吗？nǐ jīn tiān yǒu ‘ān pái le ma Do you have any plans for today?
• 你暑假有安排了吗？nǐ shǔ jià yǒu ‘ān pái le ma Do you have any plans for the summer vacation?

6. 你有什么安排吗

pinyin. nǐ yǒu shén me ‘ān pái ma literal. you have any plans? liberal. do you have any plans
Another way of how to say what are you doing in Chinese is 你有什么安排吗? Also, you can put the TIME WORD in the blank, like so, 你____有什么安排吗. Examples:

• 你明天有什么安排吗？nǐ míng tiān yǒu shén me ‘ān pái ma Do you have any plans for tomorrow?

How to Say What Are You Going To Do in Chinese

7. 你有什么打算

pinyin. nǐ yǒu shén me dǎ suàn literal. you have any plans? liberal. what are you planning to do
In Chinese, 安排 ān pái and 打算 dǎ suàn both mean plan, but 打算 is more casual and relaxed. Also you can add the TIME WORD in the blank: 你____有什么打算? Here are some examples:

• 你下个月有什么打算？ nǐ xià ge yuè yǒu shén me dǎ suàn Do you have any plans next month?
• 你毕业以后有什么打算？nǐ bì yè yǐ hòu yǒu shén me dǎ suàn Do you have any plans after graduating?

8. 你打算做什么

pinyin. nǐ dǎ suàn zuò shén me literal. what are you planning to do liberal. what are you planning to do
How to say what are you going to do in Chinese? Just add the verb 打算 before the second verb 做, and say 你打算做什么. Such sentences are called 连动句 lián dòng jù in Chinese, meaning there are more than one verbs together. Also, TIME WORD can be added in the blank: 你____打算做什么? Examples:

• 你今天晚上打算做什么？ nǐ jīn tiān wǎn shàng dǎ suàn zuò shén me What are you doing tonight?
• 你这个周末打算做什么？ nǐ zhè ge zhōu mò dǎ suàn zuò shén me What are you doing this weekend?