Chinese symbol for “something”
什么
shén me
Traditional: 什麼
what?; something; anything
The closest CC-CEDICT match for something is 什么 (shén me), defined as: what?; something; anything.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “something”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 什么.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 为什么 (為什麼) | wèi shén me | why?; for what reason? |
| 没什么 (沒什麼) | méi shén me | it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're welcome |
| 什么样 (什麼樣) | shén me yàng | what kind?; what sort? |
| 干什么 (幹什麼) | gàn shén me | what are you doing?; what's he up to? |
| 什锦 (什錦) | shí jǐn | (food) assorted; mixed |
| 怎么 (怎麼) | zěn me | how?; what? |
| 那么 (那麼) | nà me | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ... |
See also: Japanese symbol for “something”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.