How / why / by what means (何以)

Structure 何以 + verb（asking means or reason）

何以 (héyǐ) is a Classical Chinese interrogative still alive in cultivated register: placed before the verb, it asks about MEANS («by what?, how?») or REASON («why?, how come…?»). It corresponds to modern 怎么 / 为什么 / 用什么, but sounds literary and solemn. It shows up both in set phrases (何以见得 «what makes you think so?», 何以解忧 «with what shall I drown my sorrow?») and, productively, in rhetorical questions in essays. 何 keeps its literary sense of «what/how» and 以 (yǐ) that of «with/by means of».

Examples

你nǐ何hé以yǐ见jiàn得de他tā在zài说shuō谎huǎng？
What makes you so sure he's lying?
何hé以yǐ解jiě忧yōu？唯wéi有yǒu杜dù康kāng。
With what shall I drown my sorrow? Only with wine.
他tā何hé以yǐ如rú此cǐ自zì信xìn，我wǒ不bù得dé而ér知zhī。
How he can be so self-assured is beyond me.
何hé以yǐ报bào答dá您nín的de恩ēn情qíng？
How could I ever repay your kindness?

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