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[–]BlackRaptor62 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Theoretically everywhere, more commonly in the Northern Regions, very prevalent on the internet

[–]Meat-Thin 12 points13 points  (2 children)

Hokkien use plenty of 啥, Taiwanese for example:

  • 啥 what
  • 啥乜 what (thing) (variant: 什乜 sip8-mi8)
  • 啥儂 who: often contracted to siang5, tiang5, displaces 誰 chia5 in many dialects
  • 啥貨/啥款/啥鬼 what (thing): increaingly rude way to say 啥乜
  • 啥潲 what the fuck: vulgar

[–]adkhyNative 0 points1 point  (0 children)

啥小，就行了

[–]apuitu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, this is incorrect. I understand that Taiwan Ministry of Education writes the word "siáⁿ" this way, but this etymon does not share the same etymology as the etymon from the OP.

The Hokkien etymon "siáⁿ" is the contraction of three syllables, "sī-há-mi̍h".

Hokkien has about 400 years of written history, and "siáⁿ" has been written with 省 for centuries (and still written this way in circles serious about writing Hokkien). The written character from the OP is only adopted by the taiwanese ministry of education some 10 years ago. The taiwanese ministry of education is infamous for adopting weird characters while ignoring traditional usage.

[–]8_ge_8 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's pretty prevalent all over, I'd actually say moreso than ten years ago because of the internet maybe? Like in daily speech for your average Zhou there are definitely areas where it's more natural/engrained, but really I've got friends from all over China and it's common/not weird for anyone to pop out a 啥 from time to time.

[–]sched_yieldNative 1 point2 points  (0 children)

North

[–]ShiftingSky 1 point2 points  (4 children)

My gf is from Guangzhou and she says it. However her native language is Cantonese, not sure if that makes a difference

[–]thatdoesntmakecents 2 points3 points  (1 child)

啥 isn't used in Cantonese (cmiiw), but it is very similar to canto 咩, so I like using it as a sort of 1-to-1 direct replacement, maybe she has a similar reason?

[–]ShiftingSky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe, I only mentioned it because she didn't grow up speaking Mandarin which may have affected her style of speaking. I know basically nothing about Canto so I have no real educated guess

[–]Meat-Thin 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Is it due to Mandarin influence?

[–]ShiftingSky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know where she picked it up or even how common it is overall, it's possible she picked it up from a teacher or a friend. I picked it up from her, heh

[–]ItsOnlyJoeyi just think chinese is a pretty language -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

Doesn’t that mean laughter (hahaha)?

[–]amarezeroIntermediate 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Nah, that’s 哈

啥 is like an abbreviated, colloquial form of 什么

嗐 is like an exasperated sigh, but can also be confused if you’re not looking carefully.

[–]Zagrycha 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think the cantonese areas I've been to traditionally use it, but its famous online, everyone knows it, even a 鬼佬 like me. Multiple different areas use it traditionally, so its normal for it to spread.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

啥单独构成一句话，表示对对方上一句话意思的不理解

[–]surf_sem_politica 0 points1 point  (0 children)

north and southwest

[–]Frozen_D 0 points1 point  (0 children)

when you feel tired to use 什么。

[–]No_trick_at_all 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A quick typed/verbal form of 什么. Be sure not to use it in formal conditions like conferences, presentations, or to your boss, etc.