How to Say ‘What are you doing?’ in Traditional Chinese
在幹嘛？
zài gàn ma
[zài gànmá]
💬 Usage Tip: 嘛 here is (má), short for 什麼. Despite the 幹, 在幹嘛 is a completely clean, everyday 'what are you doing?'.
Phrase Breakdown
在
zài
[zài]
(progressive marker)
Before a verb, indicates an action in progress, like '-ing'.
我在吃飯。
I'm eating.
幹嘛
gàn ma
[gànmá]
what are you doing; why
Colloquial 'do what'; can sound impatient or confrontational.
你幹嘛不理我？
Why are you ignoring me?
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