How to use 怎么
怎么⋯⋯？
怎么 can ask for an explanation rather than a method. In this reading it often resembles English “how come,” because the speaker reacts to something unexpected or contrary to their assumptions. It appears before the predicate, which may describe an action, a negative situation, or a quality the speaker finds surprising.
Words such as 这么 or 那么 can emphasize the degree of an adjective in these questions. The request for a reason may sound curious, pleased, critical, or accusatory, depending on context and tone. 为什么 is a more explicit way to ask why, but it need not express exactly the same stance. Decide whether the listener should explain a cause or describe a procedure before interpreting 怎么.
Examples with pinyin and English
他怎么还没来？
How come he's not here yet?
你们怎么打人？
How can you hit people?
他帮了你，你怎么不说 “谢谢”？
He helped you. How come you didn't say thank you?
你结婚的时候怎么不告诉我？
How come you didn't tell me when you got married?
What to remember
- Look for an unexpected situation or degree.
- Put 怎么 before the relevant predicate.
- Tone determines curiosity, praise, or criticism.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.