zěn me gǎo dedictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
How did it happen? / What's wrong? / What went wrong? / What's up?
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-4b69517e9f942c65. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

怎麼搞的 怎么搞的 [zen3 me5 gao3 de5] /How did it happen?/What's wrong?/What went wrong?/What's up?/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 怎麼搞的

  • 怎
    zěn

    how

  • 么
    yāo

    youngest / most junior / tiny / one (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers, esp. on telephone or in military) / one or ace on dice or dominoes / variant of 吆[yāo], to shout

    má

    exclamatory final particle

    ma

    interrogative final particle

    me

    suffix, used to form interrogative 什麼|什么[shén me], what?, indefinite 這麼|这么[zhè me] thus, etc

    Yāo

    surname Yao

  • 搞
    gǎo

    to do / to make / to go in for / to set up / to get hold of / to take care of

  • 的
    de

    of / ~'s (possessive particle) / (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun) / (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis) / (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的[pí gé de] "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的|跑堂儿的[pǎo táng r de] "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的[xīn de] "new one") / also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs

    dī

    (bound form) a taxi / a cab (abbr. for 的士[dī shì])

    dí

    really and truly

    dì

    (bound form) bull's-eye / target

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.