What Does 干嘛 (gàn má) Mean in Chinese?
Traditional: 幹嘛Reviewed context lessonCommon
What are you doing? / Why?
Quick answer: What does 干嘛 mean?
干嘛 — A casual spoken question about someone’s action or reason. Depending on tone, it can sound curious, surprised, or annoyed.
✓What are you doing?
✓What for?
✓Why are you doing that?
What Chinese people actually mean
干嘛 is informal. A sharp “你干嘛？” can sound confrontational, while “你干嘛呢？” among friends can be a neutral check-in.
Chinese characters
Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.
Real conversations
1 · A casual check-in
A: 你干嘛呢？
nǐ gàn má ne?
A: What are you up to?
B: 我在找钥匙。
wǒ zài zhǎo yàoshi.
B: I’m looking for my keys.
2 · Asking for a reason
A: 你干嘛突然走了？
nǐ gàn má tūrán zǒu le?
A: Why did you suddenly leave?
B: 我接了个电话。
wǒ jiē le ge diànhuà.
B: I got a call.
How to pronounce 干嘛
干嘛
Tap to hear Mandarin.
When to use it
✓Common in conversation with people you know.
✓For a more neutral question in a formal setting, use 为什么 or 在做什么.
✓Voice and relationship matter more than the English word “why.”
Sources and editorial note
Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.Context lesson: Original Chinese Meaning context lesson; examples written for this site.