Is there a distinction between 怎样 (zěnyàng) and 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)?

Question

Question: Is there a distinction between 怎样 (zěnyàng) and 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng)?

At first, 怎样 seems like a shortened version of 怎么样. However, let's look at some Jukuu.com examples for 怎样:

你知道怎样处理这个问题吗？
Do you know how to deal with this problem?
_{(Nǐ zhīdào zěnyàng chǔlǐ zhège wèntí ma?)}

你们今年是怎样庆祝五一节的？
How did you celebrate May Day this year?
_{(Nǐmen jīnnián shì zěnyàng qìngzhù wǔyī jié de?)}

And for 怎么样：

这些日子你怎么样？
How are you doing these days?
_{(Zhèxiē rìzi nǐ zěnme yàng?)}

他法语学得怎么样了？
How is he coming on with his study of French?
_{(Tā fǎyǔ xué dé zěnme yàngle?)}

It seems the usage is different between the two. I asked a Chinese friend about it and he indicated they're mostly similar, but there's a difference in usage. I didn't fully understand though.

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_{(PS. This is not a duplicate of What is the difference between 怎么 and 怎么样 ？ because that question asks about 怎么, not 怎样.)}

Answer 1

They are completely interchangeable.

I would probably say their effects are a very little bit different, (which people indeed wouldn't care most of time).

怎样做 vs 怎么样做， the longer version(the latter) sounds like it might engage a bit more procedures or processes than the shorter version(the former).

Again, that's just an effect, which couldn't be even a matter in practice.

Answer 2

In the first two examples for 怎样, it's totally OK to use 怎么样 instead.

In 他法语学得怎么样了, also you can use 怎样 instead.

这些日子你怎么样 seem to be an exception, where using 怎样 feels a bit unnatural, though acceptable still. I think it's because 怎么样 serves as a verb in this sentence.

Answer 3

There are no difference in meaning.
怎样 is written and 怎么样 is spoken, though sometimes it doesn't matter.