'Zǎ zhěng' is a colloquial, Northeastern Chinese expression meaning 'What should we do?' or 'How do we handle this?'. It functions as an interjection expressing confusion, helplessness, or urgent uncertainty in everyday situations — not a literal noun or verb. The character 咋 is a regional variant of 怎 (how), and 整 is a versatile slang verb meaning 'to deal with', 'to handle', or 'to fix', often used informally across northern China.

This phrase carries a distinctly informal, down-to-earth tone — common among friends, family, or coworkers in Northeast China (e.g., Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning). It’s rarely used in formal writing or speech, and never in official contexts. Speakers often raise their pitch slightly on 咋 and stress 整, sometimes adding filler sounds like 'ā' or 'yíge' for emphasis ('Zǎ zhěng à?', 'Zǎ zhěng yíge?'). It reflects pragmatic problem-solving culture but always with a layer of shared exasperation or humor.