zěn

how

sudden (乍) + heart (心) = how on earth?

乍 gives the sound zěn; 心 anchors the character in the realm of thought and inner questioning. Together they form a word that asks 'how' — the mind reaching for a way.

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SuddennessPhonetic
HeartSemantic

Words with 怎

不怎么

bù zěn me

not very

不怎么样

bù zěn me yàng

not up to much

不管怎样

bù guǎn zěn yàng

in any case; no matter what

再怎么

zài zěn me

no matter how ...

怎一个愁字了得

zěn yī gè chóu zì liǎo dé

(last line of the poem 聲聲慢|声声慢[Sheng1 sheng1 Man4] by Song poet Li Qingzhao 李清照[Li3 Qing1 zhao4])

怎奈

zěn nài

(often used in early vernacular) but alas; however

怎样

zěn yàng

how

怎生

zěn shēng

how

怎的

zěn de

what for

怎能

zěn néng

how can?

怎么

zěn me

how?

怎么了

zěn me le

variant of 怎麼了|怎么了[zen3 me5 le5]

More characters with 乍