Chinese grammar: How to do something zenme怎么

怎么 (zěnme) means "how" in Chinese, and it's not hard to use at all. Learn how to use "how" here!

Structure 1
The question word 怎么 is used to ask how in Chinese. It is inserted in front of the verb that's being asked about:

Subject + 怎么 + Verb + Object

Note that the subject can often be omitted from general "how to" questions, and there doesn't always have to be an object.

Examples

zěn me qù ？
怎么 去？

How do you get there?

Structure 2

Starting a "how to" question with the topic at the beginning of the question is very common. That is, the thing being asked about is introduced first, then a question is asked about how to do something involving it.

Topic + 怎么 + Verb

The object doesn't have to come after the verb. Sometimes it moves to the front of the question, establishing what the question is going to be about, before getting specific with the "how" question.

Examples

Chāoshì zěnme zǒu ？
超市 怎么 走？

How do you get to the supermarket?