怎么样

Use 怎么 when you need the way something happens or the cause behind it. You ask 你怎么去? to mean How do you get there? Use 怎么样 when you want a judgment, feeling, or condition about something. You ask 这个菜怎么样? to mean How is this dish? English uses one how for both jobs, but Chinese splits them clearly.

English puts how at the front, so learners often try 怎么样苹果. Chinese makes 怎么样 the question about the thing, and the thing comes first. You say 小苹果怎么样, not 怎么样小苹果, because the thing must lead. The same order holds with 觉得: 你觉得怎么样? sounds fine, but 怎么样你觉得? does not. “我问超市的人小苹果怎么样？” (I asked the staff at the supermarket what the small apples were like.) ── [《很贵的苹果》](/read/buying-expensive-apples#s4)

怎么样 can invite a choice, not just check a condition. 我们去吃火锅，怎么样? means How about we go eat hotpot? You can also ask 这个方案怎么样? to get a coworker's real opinion. It is a soft way to say What do you think without pushing too hard.