（您）猜怎么着
and guess what? (the pause before the twist in a story)
Structure
铺垫 ， （你／您）猜怎么着 ？ 出人意料的结果
What it means
The storyteller's pause just before the twist: you invite a guess and give the answer at once. Nobody is meant to reply.
How it is built
Build-up + (你／您)猜怎么着？ + surprise: 我等了他两个钟头，你猜怎么着？他早把这事忘了 (I waited two hours, and guess what? He had forgotten).
When to use it
Spoken, with a Beijing flavour; 您猜怎么着 is the crosstalk stage form, said to the audience. Say zěn me zhe, with a neutral 着. In a report use 没想到 or 不料.
Watch out
It comes before the twist, never after, and what follows must be a real surprise. ✗ 他早忘了，你猜怎么着？ ✓ 你猜怎么着？他早把这事忘了。
Examples
等她出门一看，您猜怎么着？晾的衣服全没了！
She finally comes out and, guess what? The washing has all gone!
我在车站等了他两个钟头，你猜怎么着？他早把这事忘了。
I waited two hours for him at the station, and guess what? He had clean forgotten.
那天我去面试，一进门，嘿，你猜怎么着，面试官是我大学同学！
I went for an interview that day, and the moment I walked in, well, guess what: the interviewer was an old classmate from university!
Learn this in Lesson 216 · HSK 9+: 相声：说学逗唱 (Crosstalk: the art of talking funny)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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