The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

怎么了

zěn me le

Source form: 怎麼了 / 怎么了
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
What's up? / What's going on? / What happened?
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-7447f13b15e7b0b5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

怎麼了 怎么了 [zen3 me5 le5] /What's up?/What's going on?/What happened?/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Source form: 怎麽了 / 怎么了
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
variant of 怎麼了|怎么了[zěn me le]
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-2f2af8c170be52fa. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

怎麽了 怎么了 [zen3 me5 le5] /variant of 怎麼了|怎么了[zen3 me5 le5]/

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: 怎麼了 / 怎麽了

  • 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

  • 了
    le

    (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) / (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

    liǎo

    to finish / (used with 得[dé] or 不[bù] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wàng bu liǎo] "cannot forget") / (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wú] or 不[bù]) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least / (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly

    liào

    See the full entry for source details.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.