什么 from HSK Level 1 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 什么 (shénme) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 什 (shén) and 么 (me). The character 什 (shén) originally meant "what" or "which" and was often used in ancient Chinese texts to introduce a question. The character 么 (me) is a语气助词 (yǔqì zhùcí), or grammatical particle, that is used to emphasize or soften the meaning of a word or phrase. In the case of 什么, the character 么 (me) serves to emphasize the interrogative nature of the word.The earliest known use of the character 什么 dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE). It was originally written as 甚麽 (shénme), with the character 甚 (shèn) meaning "very" or "greatly." Over time, the character 甚 (shèn) was simplified to 什 (shén), and the character 什么 came to be pronounced as shénme.The character 什么 is used in a variety of ways in modern Chinese. It can be used as a pronoun to mean "what" or "which," as in the sentence 你想要什么? (nǐ xiǎng yào shénme? - What do you want?). It can also be used as an interrogative adjective to mean "what kind of" or "which," as in the sentence 你是什么人? (nǐ shì shénme rén? - What kind of person are you?). Additionally, 什么 can be used as an exclamatory word to express surprise or disbelief, as in the sentence 什么! 你真的要走了? (shénme! nǐ zhēn de yào zǒu le? - What! You're really leaving?).The character 什么 is a versatile and commonly used word in Chinese. Understanding its etymology can help learners to better understand its meaning and usage.