那是什么？

Learning Chinese: How to Say "What is that?" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 这是什么？
Pinyin: Zhè shì shén me?
Pronunciation: zhe4 shi4 shen2 me5
English Translation: What is that?

Usage:

"这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)" is a common question used to ask about something that you don't know or understand. It can be used in a variety of situations, such as:

When you see an unfamiliar object
When you hear an unfamiliar sound
When you don't understand something that someone has said
Example:

Chinese: 这是什么？
Pinyin: Zhè shì shén me?
English: What is that?
Variations:

There are a few variations of "这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)" that you may hear:

哪是什么？(Nǎ shì shén me?): A more informal way to ask "What is that?", similar to "What's that?" in English.
这是什么东西？(Zhè shì shén me dōng xi?): Literally means "What is this thing?", and can be used to ask about specific objects.
Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers asking "What is that?" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.
Additional Notes:

"这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)" is a versatile question that can be used in many different situations.
To ask about something more specific, you can add a noun after "这是什么？(Zhè shì shén me?)". For example, "这是什么书？(Zhè shì shén me shū?)" means "What book is this?".
When asking about something that is far away, you can use "那是什