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干吗

幹嗎
gànma
phrase HSK 3 #794

Meanings

  1. 1 what are you doing?
  2. 2 what for?; why?

Characters

干
gàn
to do
吗
ma
what (colloquial)
Literally 'do what?' — a very casual way to ask what someone is doing or why.

Examples

你干吗呢？
Nǐ gàn ma ne?
What are you doing?
干吗要这样做？
Gàn ma yào zhèyàng zuò?
Why do it this way?
你干吗不去？
Nǐ gàn ma bú qù?
Why aren't you going?
干吗生气？
Gàn ma shēngqì?
Why are you angry?

Tips

usage
干吗 is very colloquial and casual. It can sound confrontational depending on tone — 你干吗呢 (curious) vs. 你干吗！(annoyed).
mistakes
Also written 干嘛. Both 干吗 and 干嘛 are acceptable. Make sure to use the 4th tone on 干 (gàn, to do), not 1st tone (gān, dry).

Stroke Order

干 gàn
吗 ma