怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) is the all-purpose Chinese way to ask "how is it?" or to float "how about…?" It is the word you use to check in on a friend (你怎么样？), to ask someone's opinion of a thing (这个怎么样？), or to pitch a plan (我们明天去，怎么样？). The key structural surprise for English speakers is that 怎么样 is a complete predicate on its own — it fills the whole comment slot, so it needs no verb and no 是. 你怎么样？ literally lines up as "you how-is?", and that is a grammatical, natural full sentence.
怎么样 as a predicate: "how is X?"
Put the topic first and end with 怎么样. Because 怎么样 already behaves like a verb-adjective (it is the predicate), you never add 是 in front of it. This mirrors how Chinese adjectives act as verbs — 好 "to-be-good" needs no 是, and neither does 怎么样.
你最近怎么样？
nǐ zuìjìn zěnmeyàng?
How have you been lately? (informal) — a standard greeting; 怎么样 is the whole predicate.
这家饭馆怎么样？
zhè jiā fànguǎn zěnmeyàng?
How is this restaurant? (neutral) — asking for an evaluation of a place.
你的新工作怎么样？
nǐ de xīn gōngzuò zěnmeyàng?
How's your new job? (informal) — topic first, 怎么样 at the end.
今天天气怎么样？
jīntiān tiānqì zěnmeyàng?
How's the weather today? (neutral) — no 是, no other verb needed.
怎么样 as a suggestion: "how about…?"
Attach 怎么样 to a proposal and it becomes "how about…? / what do you say?" — a soft way to invite agreement. It typically comes after a comma, tacked onto a suggestion, or wraps a mini-proposal on its own.
我们明天去，怎么样？
wǒmen míngtiān qù, zěnmeyàng?
Let's go tomorrow — how about it? (informal) — 怎么样 turns a plan into an invitation.
喝杯咖啡怎么样？
hē bēi kāfēi zěnmeyàng?
How about a cup of coffee? (informal) — a light suggestion wrapped in 怎么样.
这个颜色怎么样？我觉得挺好看的。
zhège yánsè zěnmeyàng? wǒ juéde tǐng hǎokàn de.
What do you think of this color? I think it looks pretty nice. (informal) — asking for an opinion before giving your own.
怎么样 vs 怎么: predicate vs manner adverb
Here is the distinction that catches almost every learner. 怎么样 stands alone as a predicate meaning "how is it / how about." 怎么 (zěnme) is a manner adverb that comes before a verb to ask "how / by what means." One asks about a state or opinion; the other asks about a method.
你怎么去机场？
nǐ zěnme qù jīchǎng?
How do you get to the airport? (neutral) — 怎么 before the verb 去 asks the means.
你去机场，怎么样？
nǐ qù jīchǎng, zěnmeyàng?
You go to the airport — how about that? (informal) — 怎么样 evaluates the whole idea.
So 你怎么样？ = "how are you?" but 你怎么？ is not how you ask that — bare 怎么 begs for a following verb ("you… how [do what]?") and sounds unfinished. The full manner sense of 怎么 lives on the 怎么 page.
| Word | Role | Asks | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 怎么样 | stand-alone predicate | how is it / how about | 你怎么样？ (how are you?) |
| 怎么 + verb | manner adverb | how / by what means | 你怎么去？ (how do you get there?) |
不怎么样: "not so great"
The negative echo of this word is 不怎么样 (bù zěnmeyàng), an idiom meaning "nothing special / not that good." It is a gently dismissive verdict, softer than 不好 (not good) — more like a shrug.
——那部电影怎么样？——不怎么样。
——nà bù diànyǐng zěnmeyàng? ——bù zěnmeyàng.
'How was that movie?' 'Nothing special.' (informal) — 不怎么样 as a lukewarm verdict.
这家店的菜不怎么样，别去了。
zhè jiā diàn de cài bù zěnmeyàng, bié qù le.
The food at this place isn't that great — don't bother going. (informal) — 不怎么样 as a soft criticism.
Common Mistakes
1. Using bare 怎么 to ask 'how are you'. 怎么 needs a following verb; the evaluation predicate is 怎么样.
❌ 你怎么？
Incorrect for 'how are you' — bare 怎么 sounds unfinished; it wants a verb after it.
✅ 你怎么样？
nǐ zěnmeyàng?
How are you? — 怎么样 is a complete predicate.
2. Inserting 是 before 怎么样. 怎么样 is already the predicate, so no linking 是.
❌ 你的工作是怎么样？
Incorrect — 怎么样 acts as the verb itself, so drop 是.
✅ 你的工作怎么样？
nǐ de gōngzuò zěnmeyàng?
How's your job? — topic directly followed by 怎么样, no 是.
3. Putting 怎么样 before a verb to ask manner. Manner questions use 怎么, not 怎么样.
❌ 你怎么样去学校？
Incorrect — to ask 'how do you get to school', use 怎么 before the verb.
✅ 你怎么去学校？
nǐ zěnme qù xuéxiào?
How do you get to school? — 怎么 + verb for means.
4. Adding 吗 to a 怎么样 question. As a question word, 怎么样 needs no yes-no particle.
❌ 这个怎么样吗？
Incorrect — 怎么样 already makes it a question; drop 吗.
✅ 这个怎么样？
zhège zěnmeyàng?
How's this one? / What do you think of this? — no 吗.
Key Takeaways
- 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) is a stand-alone predicate: it fills the whole "…is how?" slot with no 是 and no other verb — 你怎么样？
- It does two jobs: evaluation ("how is it?" — 这家饭馆怎么样？) and suggestion ("how about?" — 我们明天去，怎么样？).
- Keep it apart from 怎么 + verb, which asks manner ("how / by what means" — 你怎么去？).
- The negative idiom 不怎么样 means "nothing special / not that good."
- Never add 吗 — the question word carries the question by itself.
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- 怎么 (zěnme): How / How ComeHSK 2 — 怎么 (zěnme) sits before the verb and asks manner ('how, by what means': 怎么去？) or, colloquially, cause with a flavor of surprise ('how come': 你怎么不吃？怎么这么贵！). Keep it apart from 为什么 (neutral why) and 怎么样 (how is it).
- Tag Questions (好吗, 好不好, 对吗, 是吗)HSK 2 — Soften a statement into a suggestion or check by appending a short fixed tag after a comma: 好吗？／好不好？ seek agreement to a proposal, 对吗？／对不对？／是吗？ seek confirmation of a fact. Unlike English, the tag never has to agree with the main verb.
- Question Words Stay In Place (In Situ)HSK 1 — The single most important rule for Chinese wh-questions: the question word sits exactly where the answer will sit. No fronting, no do-support, no reordering — 你去哪儿？ not ❌哪儿你去？ And because the question word already asks, you never add 吗.
- Adjectives Are Stative Verbs (No 是)HSK 1 — A Chinese adjective is a kind of verb — it predicates on its own, with NO copula 是 (shì). 她很高 'she is tall', 天气很好 'the weather is good', 这个太贵了 'this is too expensive' — never *她是高. 高 already means 'to be tall', so 是 has no job; negate with 不 (不高), not 没.