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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "what do you do" in Chinese?

你该怎么办

nǐ gāi zěn me bàn

Phrase Hanzi

In Chinese, "what do you do" is 你该怎么办 (nǐ gāi zěn me bàn).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

nǐ gāi zěn me bàn comes out with "nǐ" dipped low then curled back up (third tone), then "gāi" held flat and high (first tone), then "zěn" dipped low then curled back up (third tone), then "me" kept light and neutral, then "bàn" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).

Writing and usage

你该怎么办 is written using hanzi. It's a phrase, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

what do you do

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How to remember 你该怎么办

Picture what do you do while you say "nǐ gāi zěn me bàn" — the sound rhymes loosely with "nee geye dzuhn muh bahn", which is your cue to think of what do you do.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 你该怎么办

How do you pronounce 你该怎么办?

nǐ gāi zěn me bàn comes out with "nǐ" dipped low then curled back up (third tone), then "gāi" held flat and high (first tone), then "zěn" dipped low then curled back up (third tone), then "me" kept light and neutral, then "bàn" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).

Is 你该怎么办 formal or casual?

你该怎么办 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 你该怎么办 used in Chinese?

你该怎么办 is used the same way as the equivalent English phrase. For example: (what do you do).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"What do you do" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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