How to Ask “How Is It?” with 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)
怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) asks “how is …? / what’s … like?” and it’s a complete question on its own — just put it after the topic: 你最近怎么样？(“how have you been?”), 这家饭馆怎么样？(“how’s this restaurant?”). For an opinion: 你觉得 + topic + 怎么样？(“what do you think of …?”).
Why this trips learners up
怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) is one of the most useful conversational questions in Chinese. It asks “how is it? / what’s it like? / how’s it going?” — and the structure couldn’t be simpler: Topic + 怎么样? 你最近怎么样？(“how have you been lately?”), 这家饭馆怎么样？(“how’s this restaurant?”), 你们的新房子怎么样？(“how’s your new place?”).
The thing to notice: 怎么样 is the whole predicate. There’s no 是 (“to be”) and no verb — 怎么样 already contains the “is.” English says “how is it”; Chinese just says 怎么样. So you never add 是 in front (中国怎么样？, not 中国是怎么样？).
To ask for someone’s opinion, wrap it in 你觉得 (“do you think / feel”): 你觉得 + Topic + 怎么样? — 你觉得上海怎么样？(“what do you think of Shanghai?”), 你觉得这个颜色怎么样？(“what do you think of this colour?”). The topic sits in the middle; 怎么样 stays at the end. 怎么样 is also a handy way to float a suggestion — 我们去喝杯咖啡，怎么样？(“let’s grab a coffee, how about it?”).
Don’t mix it up with plain 怎么 (zěnme). 怎么 + a verb asks the method — 怎么去 (“how do I get there?”), 怎么写 (“how do you write it?”). 怎么样, standing alone, asks what something is like. Your one English “how” splits into two: 怎么 for the way you do something, 怎么样 for how something is.
The structure
Colour key
Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.
Examples in context
Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.
Tap a word to see its grammatical role.
nǐ 你 Subject shēntǐ 身体 Subject zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
How’s your health? (Topic + 怎么样).
zhè jiā fànguǎn 这家饭馆 Subject zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
How’s this restaurant? (no 是 needed).
nǐmen de xīn fángzi 你们的新房子 Subject zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
How’s your new house?
zhōumò de diànyǐng 周末的电影 Subject zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern hǎokàn 好看 Adjective ma 吗 Question
How was the movie this weekend? Was it good? (怎么样 + a 吗 follow-up).
nǐ 你 Subject juéde 觉得 Verb zhège yánsè 这个颜色 Object zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
What do you think of this colour? (你觉得 + topic + 怎么样).
nǐ 你 Subject juéde 觉得 Verb wǒ de nánpéngyou 我的男朋友 Object zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
What do you think of my boyfriend?
wǒmen 我们 Subject qù 去 Verb hē 喝 Verb bēi 杯 Measure word kāfēi 咖啡 Object zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
Let’s go get a coffee, how about it? (怎么样 = “how about it?”).
nǐ 你 Subject shìshi 试试 Verb zhè jiàn yīfu 这件衣服 Object kànkan 看看 Verb zěnmeyàng 怎么样 Pattern
Try on this outfit and see how it looks (怎么样 embedded — “see how it is”).
Common mistakes
Why it happens: 怎么样 already means “how is it,” so there’s no 是 before it: 中国怎么样？, never 中国是怎么样？. The “is” is built in.
Why it happens: Bare 怎么 needs a verb after it (怎么做, 怎么去). To ask “how IS X / what’s X like,” use the full 怎么样 — 这里的菜怎么样？, not 这里的菜怎么？.
Why it happens: In the opinion pattern, the topic goes between 觉得 and 怎么样: 你觉得上海怎么样？. 怎么样 always stays at the end — not 你觉得怎么样上海.
Compare & contrast
| 怎么 + Verb — how (by what means) | 怎么样 — how is it / what’s it like | The difference |
|---|---|---|
| 怎么去？zěnme qù? | 那个地方怎么样？nàge dìfang zěnmeyàng? | 怎么去？= “how do I get there?” (the method — needs the verb 去). 那个地方怎么样？= “what’s that place like?” (怎么样 stands alone). |
| 这个字怎么写？zhège zì zěnme xiě? | 我的字怎么样？wǒ de zì zěnmeyàng? | 这个字怎么写？= “how do you write this character?” 我的字怎么样？= “how’s my handwriting?” One asks the way, the other asks what it’s like. |
Try it yourself
Ask “What do you think of this job?” — 你觉得 + topic + 怎么样.
Related patterns
Quick reference card
How to Ask “How Is It?” with 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) grammar.merrymandarin.com A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.