Dong Chinese dictionary

zěn

what? why? how?

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 乍 represents the sound.

Components

心 Meaning component

xīn

heart

乍 Sound component

zhà

suddenly

怎 and 乍 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.

Definitions

zěn

what? why? how?; how

Most common words with 怎

Sources