In this video lesson we'll learn how to ask what's wrong / what happened in Chinese. We'll also compare the differences between 怎么了 vs. 怎么 in Chinese and 怎么样了 vs. 怎么样 in Chinese.
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:
For example,
怎么了 can be used in the following structure as well:
When used separately, 怎么 is asking how come, and 了 is used after the Predicate to suggest a "new situation". For example,
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:
For example,
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
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.
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