Chinese character 办

It means getting a matter handled. In Mandarin Chinese, context determines whether 办 means doing a task, arranging something, buying supplies, or dealing with a case. In 怎么办？, someone facing a problem asks what to do; the phrase itself does not require step-by-step instructions.

The old Chinese character dictionary 《說文》 left 辦 out of its original text; a later supplement glosses it as “apply effort.”