什麼
ChineseEdit
EtymologyEdit
Corruption of Medieval 是物 (MC d͡ʑiᴇX mɨut̚, “why”) (Yuan et al., 1996: 318–324).
PronunciationEdit
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄕㄣˊ ˙ㄇㄜ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shenr.mhe
- IPA (key): /ʂən³⁵ mə³/
-
- (Standard Chinese, common variant)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄕㄜˊ ˙ㄇㄜ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sher.mhe
- IPA (key): /ʂɤ³⁵ mə³/
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)+
Note: Many other variant pronunciations exist, notably shě(n)me.
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: sam6 mo1
- Yale: sahm mō
- Cantonese Pinyin: sam6 mo1
- Guangdong Romanization: sem6 mo1
- IPA (key): /sɐm²² mɔː⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Min Nan
PronounEdit
什麼
- (interrogative) what
- something; anything; whatever
- (when used twice in a sentence) whatever
- (used to express surprise or anger) what
- (used before an enumeration) thing like; such as; and so on; and what not
- (used to express disapproval, disagreement)
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
JapaneseEdit
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
什 | 麼 |
いん Hyōgaiji |
も Hyōgaiji |
Irregular |
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From spoken Middle Chinese 恁麼 (nyimX muɑ, “what?”, archaic, literally “think + something tiny and insignificant”).[1] The spelling shifted to include the Chinese synonym 什麼 (modern Mandarin reading of shénme), while keeping the inmo reading for 恁麼, instead of the expected shūma reading for 什麼.
Imported into Japanese by Zen monks who had studied in China.[1] Generally restricted to use by Zen practitioners.[2]
PronunciationEdit
PronounEdit
什麼 (hiragana いんも, rōmaji inmo)
- (rare) what
- 天地と我と什麼の交渉かある。
- Tenchi to ware to inmo no kōshō ka aru.
- What kind of relation between universe and I?
- 天地と我と什麼の交渉かある。
Usage notesEdit
Generally followed by the possessive particle の (no) and used as an adnominal, with a meaning of what kind of.