Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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怎么 (2) — How Come?!
疑问代词「怎么」（二）— 你怎么来了？
你怎么来了？宝宝怎么哭了？今天怎么这么热？ The same 怎么 that asked how now asks why-on-earth — surprise built into a question word.
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Memory hook
怎么 + V 了 / 怎么 + 这么 + adj = how come?!
Eyebrows up
Every line is a surprise. Hear where the voice rises — on 怎么 — and what follows: a 了 or a 这么.
Tap any line to hear it
How come?!怎么会？！
No pressure — just making it stick.
你____来了？我以为你在上海！
Nǐ ____ Lái le? Wǒ yǐwéi nǐ zài Shànghǎi!
How come you're here?! I thought you were in Shanghai!
Your teacher asks with raised eyebrows. Which reply answers the surprise?
Why is it so hot today?
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
宝宝怎么____？——他饿了。
Bǎobao zěnme ____? — Tā è le.
Why's the baby crying? — He's hungry.
Your turn — say it
这个菜怎么这么辣？
How is this dish so spicy?!
你们____分手了？上个星期还好好的。
Nǐmen ____ Fēnshǒu le? Shànggè xīngqī hái hǎohǎo de.
How come you two broke up? Last week you were fine.
Finish each surprised question with the word that fits.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Surprises, in pictures看图惊讶一下
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four surprises from the deck. Match each picture, then ask the 怎么 question it deserves.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
你怎么来了？
How come you're here?!
Why do your shoes stink so much?!
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
你怎么这么帅？
How are you this handsome?!
This lesson's characters
Three from the surprises: the crying, the heat, and the lateness.
to cry
会two ideas joined
Two mouths 口口 open wide above 犬, a dog: the sound of howling. Whether the dictionaries meant a dog's howl or a mourner's, the picture is a loud, open-mouthed cry — and that is what a baby does. 宝宝怎么哭了？ Its opposite, 笑, has bamboo on top: laughter that shakes like leaves.
hot
形meaning + sound
The four dots along the bottom are 火, fire, lying down — the same flames under 点 and 黑. 执 on top lends the sound. Heat is fire underneath: 热 is hot weather, hot water (热水 — the cure for everything in China), and 热情, warm-hearted. 今天怎么这么热 is the whole of a Chinese July.
late, slow
形meaning + sound
The walking radical 辶 with 尺, a foot-rule, for the sound: walking one foot at a time — slowly, and therefore late. 迟到 is to arrive late, the sin every Chinese teacher notices; 迟 alone means slow or delayed. 你怎么迟到了？ is the question, and 因为地铁坏了 is the usual answer.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Pay the 怎么这么 compliment to one friend today — 你怎么这么聪明 — and watch the grin. It is the most Chinese compliment you can give.
- Keep the two 怎么s apart in your head: 怎么走 wants directions, 怎么来了 wants a reason. The second one has its eyebrows up.
- Next time something surprises you — the heat, a price, a friend at the door — say it in Chinese first: 怎么这么……？ Surprise is the fastest teacher.