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How to Say ‘What's up?’ in Simplified Chinese

有什么事吗？

yǒu shén me shì ma

[yoe shénme shì ma]

💬 Usage Tip: Here 什么 doesn't ask "what". With 吗 at the end it means "anything", so this is literally "Is there some matter?"

Phrase Breakdown

有什么

yǒu shén me

is there any / what is there

有 (yǒu, to have / there is) + 什么 (shénme, what). The 么 is light and unstressed.

Example

有什么问题？

Is there any problem?

Words in this phrase

有

yǒu

[yoe]

have; there is

A common verb meaning to possess something or indicating existence.

Example

听完介绍以后，我有兴趣了解更多。

After hearing the introduction, I am interested in learning more.

什么

shén me

[shénme]

what

Question word asking about things.

Example

你想吃什么？

What do you want to eat?

事吗？

shì ma

matter? / thing?

事 (shì) means a matter or business. 吗 (ma) is a light question particle that makes it a yes/no question.

Example

你有事吗？

Do you need something?

Words in this phrase

事

shì

[shì]

matter; thing; business

A noun for an affair, issue, or something someone needs.

Example

我有点事，先走了。

I have something to do, I'll go first.

吗

[ma]

question particle

A sentence-final particle used to turn a statement into a yes-no question.

Example

你是第一次来吗？这里的“吗”表示提问。

Is this your first time here? Here, 吗 marks a question.

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