How to Say "How About" in Chinese

怎么样

The English phrase 'how about' is translated into Chinese as 怎么样.

怎么样 is used in casual conversations to ask for opinions or suggestions. The colloquial form 咋样 can also be used to mean 'What about'.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase 怎么样 is composed of 怎么, which means 'how' and 样, which means 'manner' or 'appearance'.

While 怎么样 is the standard way to say 'how about' in daily conversation, 如何 is a more formal equivalent used in writing or professional settings.

The formal expression 如何 is commonly used in Taiwan.

In Chinese, 怎么样 is often placed at the end of a sentence to suggest an idea or ask for an opinion.

In certain contexts, repeating the phrase as 怎么样怎么样 can be used to vaguely summarize a long story, acting like the English phrase 'and so on and so forth'.
In casual speech, 怎么样 can be used as a challenge or a provocation, similar to saying 'What are you going to do about it?' in English.
If you use the formal version 如何 in a casual text message with friends, you might sound ironically overly dramatic or like a character in a period television drama.

明晚怎么样？
How about tomorrow night?
This sentence is useful for practicing the form 怎么样.
Tatoeba #4881634 by musclegirlxyp, translation #323226 by CM
你觉得周五怎么样？
How about Friday?
Tatoeba #10972062 by xjjAstrus, translation #1358780 by CK
再来一杯啤酒怎么样？
How about another beer?
Tatoeba #5097655 by mirrorvan, translation #553951 by CK
您觉得我们把会议安排在明天怎么样？
How about we schedule the meeting for tomorrow?
怎么样我们一起看电影？
How about we watch a movie?
15 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are deciding what to eat for lunch.

梓涵 Zihan

志强，中午吃面条怎么样？
zhì qiáng, zhōng wǔ chī miàn tiáo zěn me yàng?
Zhiqiang, how about eating noodles for lunch?
志强 Zhiqiang

我想吃点热的东西。
wǒ xiǎng chī diǎn rè de dōng xi.
I want to eat something hot.
梓涵 Zihan

那喝汤怎么样？
nà hē tāng zěn me yàng?
Then how about drinking soup?
志强 Zhiqiang

好主意，我们走吧。
hǎo zhǔ yi, wǒ men zǒu ba.
Good idea, let's go.

Sources

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