why

Middle English, from Old English hwȳ.

• wī, /waɪ/, /WaI/

  Homophones: y

• hwī, /ʍaɪ/, /WaI/

why

1. for what reason.

   Why did you do that?

• how come

• Breton: perak
• Bulgarian: защо (1, 2)
• Catalan: per què
• Czech: proc
• Dutch: waarom
• Esperanto: kial
• Finnish: miksi
• French: pourquoi
• Frisian: wêrom
• German: warum, wieso
• Hebrew: למה (láma); מדוע (madu'a)
• Indonesian: mengapa, kenapa
• Italian: perché
• Japanese: 何故 (なぜ, naze), なんで (nande), どうして (dōshite)
• Latin: cur
• Persian: چِرا (čerā)
• Pitjantjatjara: nyaaku
• Portuguese: por que
• Romanian: de ce, pentru ce
• Spanish: por qué

why

1. the reason that.

   I don't know why he did that.

• Catalan: perquè
• Finnish: miksi
• French: pourquoi
• German: warum
• Italian: perché
• Latin: quid
• Portuguese: porque
• Spanish: porqué

why (plural: whys)

1. the reason.

   A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.

• wherefore

• Bulgarian: причина f
• Catalan: perquè
• Dutch: waarom n
• Indonesian: mengapa, kenapa
• Japanese: 何故 (なぜ, naze), どうして (dōshite)
• Portuguese: porquê
• Romanian: pentru ce
• Spanish: porqué

why

1. Exclamation of surprise

   Why! How did you do that?

• Bulgarian: ей, хей
• Dutch: wel

• because