What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 你 (you), 今天 (today), 做 (to do), 了 (aspect particle indicating completion) and 什么 (what).
Which one should you use?
While 你今天做了什么？ is the standard way to ask the question, you may encounter several variations. 你今天干了什么？ and 你今天干什么了？ use the word 干 (gàn), which can mean "do" or "work" and adds a sense of casualness. Another variation, 你今天都做了点啥？, is an informal way to ask "What have you done today?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The standard form is 你今天做了什么？ To be more polite and show respect when addressing elders or superiors, replace 你 (nǐ) with the honorific 您 (nín) to say 您今天做了什么？ For a more casual or colloquial tone, you can use 你今天干了什么？ or 你今天干什么了？
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase 你今天做了什么？, the particle 了 (le) is used to indicate that the action of "doing" is completed.
How do you pronounce it?
Nǐ jīntiān zuòle shénme?
Did you know?
- While 干 (gàn) in 你今天干了什么？ is common in northern China, in some southern regions it can sound unexpectedly aggressive or even vulgar depending on the context.
- In Chinese, there is no distinct grammatical tense for the past, so the word 了 (le) marks the completion of the action rather than the time it occurred.
- If a Chinese speaker answers this question with 没做什么 (méi zuò shénme), it literally means 'did not do what' but functions as 'I didn't do much'.
Examples in context
- 你今天做了什么？Nǐ jīntiān zuòle shénme?What did you do today?
Example conversation
Two friends are chatting on the phone in the evening.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen伟，你今天做了什么？Wěi, nǐ jīntiān zuòle shénme?Wei, what did you do today?
- 伟 Wei我今天去图书馆看书了。Wǒ jīntiān qù túshūguǎn kànshū le.I went to the library to read books today.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那很棒，我也想去。Nà hěn bàng, wǒ yě xiǎng qù.That's great, I want to go too.
- 伟 Wei下次我们一起去吧。Xià cì wǒmen yīqǐ qù ba.Let's go together next time.
