See also: 什麽, 甚麼, 甚麽, and 什么

Chinese edit

tenth (used in fractions) dimi.
trad. (什麼/甚麼/什麽/甚麽) / /
simp. (什么)
alternative forms
 
拾沒拾没 obsolete
是物 obsolete
是勿 obsolete
是沒是没 obsolete
甚物 obsolete
拾沒拾没 obsolete
是物 obsolete
是勿 obsolete
是沒是没 obsolete
甚物 obsolete
甚沒甚没 obsolete
甚摩 obsolete
甚謨甚谟 obsolete
什摩 obsolete

Etymology edit

Corruption of medieval 是物 (MC dzyeX mjut, “why”) (Yuan et al., 1996: 318–324) or 什物 (MC dzyip mjut, “miscellaneous items”) (Norman, 1988; Zhang, 1982), perhaps influenced by 何物 (OC *ɡaːl mɯd, “what”).

Pronunciation edit


Note: Many other variant pronunciations exist.
Note:
  • sim6 moh4 - Chaozhou, Shantou;
  • se6 moh4 - Jieyang.
  • Wu
  • Pronoun edit

    什麼

    1. (interrogative) what
      什麼什么  ―  Zhè shì shénme?  ―  What is this?
      平時喜歡什麼 [MSC, trad.]
      平时喜欢什么 [MSC, simp.]
      Nǐ píngshí xǐhuān zuò shénme? [Pinyin]
      What do you like doing in your spare time?
      知道什麼 [MSC, trad.]
      知道什么 [MSC, simp.]
      Wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì shénme rén. [Pinyin]
      I don't know what kind of person he is.
    2. something
      什麼什么  ―  Nǐ xiǎng chī diǎn shénme ma?  ―  Would you like something to eat?
    3. anything; whatever
      什麼知道什么知道  ―  shénme dōu bù zhīdào.  ―  I don't know anything
      什麼什么  ―  shénme yě bù pà.  ―  I'm not afraid of anything.
      可以什麼什麼 [MSC, trad.]
      可以什么什么 [MSC, simp.]
      Tā kěyǐ xiǎng zuò shénme jiù zuò shénme. [Pinyin]
      He can do whatever he wants.
    4. (used to express surprise or anger) what
      什麼事兒什么事儿  ―  Gàn de shì shénme shìr!  ―  What a thing to do!
    5. (used before an enumeration) thing like; such as; and so on; and what not
    6. (used to express disapproval, disagreement)

    Synonyms edit

    Derived terms edit

    Descendants edit

    • Translingual: Yiminaspis shenme

    Japanese edit

    Etymology 1 edit

    Kanji in this term
    いん
    Hyōgaiji

    Hyōgaiji
    irregular
    Alternative spelling
    恁麼

    From spoken Middle Chinese 恁麼恁么 (nyimX muɑ, what?, archaic).[1] The spelling shifted to include the Chinese synonym 什麼什么 (modern Mandarin reading of shénme), while keeping the inmo reading for 恁麼恁么, 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]

    Pronunciation edit

    Pronoun edit

    (いん)() (inmo

    1. (rare) what
      (てん)()(われ)(いん)()(こう)(しょう)ある
      Tenchi to ware to inmo no kōshō ka aru.
      What is the relation between the universe and me?
    Usage notes edit

    Generally followed by the possessive particle (no) and used as an adnominal, with a meaning of what kind of.

    Etymology 2 edit

    Kanji in this term
    どんな
    Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
    jukujikun

    Orthographic borrowing from Mandarin 什麼什么 (what).

    Definitions edit

    For pronunciation and definitions of 什麼 – see the following entry.
    どんな
    [adjective] how?; like what?; what kind of...?
    [adjective] which one?
    Alternative spellings
    何様な, 何様, 甚麼
    (This term, 什麼, is an alternative spelling (literary, obsolete) of the above term.)

    References edit

    1. 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
    2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN