你是什么？
nǐ shì shénme?
The phrase "what are you?" in Chinese is 你是什么？ (nǐ shì shénme?)
The phrase 你是什么？ is used to ask about someone's identity, profession or species in a literal or philosophical sense. The pronoun 你 (nǐ) is used to address someone directly, and 你是 (nǐ shì) means "you are".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 你 (you), 是 (to be) and 什么 (what).
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ shì shénme?
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful when using 你是什么？ to ask about someone's job, as it can sound dehumanizing or overly blunt. It is more natural to ask 你做什么工作? (What work do you do?).
Did you know?
- If you are speaking to someone of higher social status, you must replace 你 (nǐ) with the honorific 您 (nín) to avoid sounding incredibly rude.
- In some intense dramatic or philosophical contexts, such as a movie dialogue, asking 你是什么？ might be used to confront a supernatural being or a non-human entity.
- The word 什么 (shénme) can be repeated as 什么什么 (shénme shénme) to mean 'and so on' or 'etcetera' when listing things.
Example conversation
Two friends are playing a role-playing game.
- 佳怡 Jiayi在这个故事里，你是什么？Zài zhège gùshì lǐ, nǐ shì shénme?What are you in this story?
- 俊杰 Junjie我是一个勇敢的骑士。Wǒ shì yīgè yǒnggǎn de qíshì.I am a brave knight.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那太酷了！Nà tài kù le!That's so cool!
- 俊杰 Junjie你呢？你是什么角色？Nǐ ne? Nǐ shì shénme juésè?What about you? What character are you?
