Nage vs shenme
Recently I heard 'nage' (what) being used instead of shenme, in the sentence 'what is your favourite Chinese city'.
Why is this?
I thought shenme meant 'what' or 'which'
I believe shenme is more like “what.” Nage, with the 3rd tone (哪个), means “which.” (With the 4th tone, it means “that”).
December 8, 2016
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Alex, I agree with Phil. You actually say in Chinese "WHICH is your favourite Chinese city?", which is different than English.
shen2me≈ what
na3ge4≈ which
Will update if I think of any exceptions.