什 (shén): what
什 (shén) is a Chinese character meaning “what.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 十 (structural). It ranks #156 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 什 a file of ten 十 people 亻. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 今 (jīn, now), 介 (jiè, to introduce).
Definitions
- what
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA file of ten 十 people 亻
Decomposition: ⿰亻十 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 什 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 什
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 没什么 | méi shén me | it doesn't matter |
| 干什么 | gàn shén me | what are you doing? |
| 什么样 | shén me yàng | what kind? |
| 什么的 | shén me de | and so on |
| 布什 | bù shí | Bush (name) |
| 克什米尔 | kè shí mǐ ěr | Kashmir |
| 纳什维尔 | nà shí wéi ěr | Nashville, capital of Tennessee |
| 什锦 | shí jǐn | (food) assorted |
| 纳什 | nà shí | Nash (surname) |
| 喀什 | kā shí | see 喀什地區|喀什地区[Ka1 shi2 Di4 qu1] |
| 布尔什维克 | bù ěr shí wéi kè | Bolshevik |
| 什叶 | shí yè | Shia (a movement in Islam) |
| 新罕布什尔 | xīn hǎn bù shí ěr | New Hampshire, US state |
| 家什 | jiā shi | utensils |
| 什叶派 | shí yè pài | Shia sect (of Islam) |
什 appears in 86 compound words: 22 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 56 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 什 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
Hexigten banner or Kesigüten khoshuu in Chifeng 赤峰[Chi4 feng1], Inner Mongolia
Showing 8 of 9 idioms containing 什.
Example Sentences
你有什么问题可以随时问我，我会尽力解答。
Nǐ yǒu shénme wèntí kěyǐ suíshí wèn wǒ, wǒ huì jìnlì jiědá.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime, and I will do my best to answer.
2026祛斑产品什么好?十大祛斑产品排名深扒:祛斑..
2 0 2 6 祛 bān chǎn pǐn shén má hǎo ? shí dà 祛 bān chǎn pǐn pái míng shēn bā : 祛 bān . .
What are the best freckle removal products in 2026? Top 10 freckle removal product rankings: freckle removal:
洗面奶什么牌子好?聚焦公认好用的洗面奶年终榜TO...
xǐ miàn nǎi shén má pái zǐ hǎo ? jù jiāo gōng rèn hǎo yòng de xǐ miàn nǎi nián zhōng bǎng T O . . .
What brand of facial cleanser is good? Focus on the year-end list of facial cleansers that are recognized as easy to use...
视频丨空间站的年夜饭都有什么?听航天员报菜名收祝福
shì pín 丨 kōng jiān zhàn de nián yè fàn dū yǒu shén má ? yǐn háng tiān yuán bào cài míng shōu zhù fú
Video 丨What is the New Year's Eve dinner on the space station? I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it. I'm going to be able to make it.
马年话马丨龙马精神的“龙马”究竟是什么?
mǎ nián huà mǎ 丨 lóng mǎ jīng shén de lóng mǎ jiū jìng shì shén má ?
The year of the horse talk about the horse丨the dragon horse spirit of the "dragon horse" what exactly is it?
3000株蝴蝶兰凑在一起干什么?世界花卉大观园新春..
zhū 蝴 蝶 lán còu zài yī qǐ gān shén má ? shì jiè huā huì dà guàn yuán xīn chūn . .
What's the point of gathering 3,000 Phalaenopsis orchids together? World Floral Expo Spring Festival...
你好汤姆！你什么时候来的？
Nǐhǎo Tāngmǔ! nǐ shénmeshíhou lái de?
Hello Tom! When did you come?
你能猜到我有什么吗？
Nǐ néng cāi dào wǒ yǒu shénme ma?
Can you guess what I have?
他的话暗示着什么？
Tā de huà ànshì zhe shénme?
What do his words imply?
你能告诉我这是什么吗？
Nǐ néng gàosu wǒ zhè shì shénme ma?
Can you tell me what this is?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 什 (shén) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 什 have?
What is the radical of 什?
What are the components of 什?
What are common words containing 什?
What characters sound the same as 什 (shén)?
Is 什 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 什 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.