怎么【zěnme】

怎么 asks how something is done. It goes in front of the verb.

• × 你去学校怎么 → 你怎么去学校

Everyday questions

A handful of 怎么 questions come up constantly: zěn me怎幺shuì说 "how do you say", zěn me怎幺dòu读 "how do you pronounce", zěn me怎幺zǒu走 "how do I get there", and zěn me bàn怎幺办 "what do we do".

怎么 also asks why

With a tone of surprise, 怎么 asks how something came to be the case. wèi shén me为什幺 asks for a reason plainly; 怎么 says the speaker didn't expect it.

怎么 or 怎么样

怎么 asks about method; zěn me yàng怎幺样 asks what something is like.