what; something; anything; used for emphasis
Meanings
7 senses · 24 examplespronoun
what (asking about things)
Used alone or before a noun to ask about things. The tone on 'me' is neutral.
What is this?
What are you looking for?
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What is your name?
What color do you like?
What is artificial intelligence?
pronoun
something; anything (indefinite reference)
Used when the specific thing is unknown or unimportant.
I think I heard them talking about something.
I'm hungry and want to eat something.
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He always wants to buy something for her.
pronoun
anything; whatever (arbitrary reference)
Used with '也' or '都' for 'any', or in correlative structures '什么...什么...' for 'whatever'.
He is not afraid of anything.
If you work hard, you can learn anything.
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Eat whatever you want.
Whenever you go, I'll go at the same time.
interjection
What! (expressing surprise or dissatisfaction)
informalOften used alone or at the beginning of an exclamatory sentence.
What! It's already nine o'clock?
What kind of quality is this! It broke in one day.
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What shoes are these! One is big and the other is small.
particle
Why? (expressing blame or reproach)
informalUsed in rhetorical questions to scold or question someone's action.
What are you laughing at? What's so funny about this?
Speak up! Why are you pretending to be mute?
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Why are you crying? It's not a big deal.
particle
Nonsense! (expressing disagreement)
informalUsed to contradict or dismiss what someone just said, often followed by a counterargument.
Dry in one day? Nonsense! It wouldn't dry even in three days.
Too expensive? Nonsense! This is already very cheap.
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You can't do it? Nonsense! You did it perfectly last time.
particle
and so on; such as (indicating a non-exhaustive list)
Placed before several parallel items to mean 'things like...'.
He's willing to help with things like delivering messages, running errands, and so on.
The supermarket has everything, like fruits, vegetables, snacks, and so on.
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He can do a little of everything, like singing, dancing, painting, and so on.