Writing
为什么 (wèi shénme) — how to say "why?" in Chinese
为什么
Why?
question word
How to use it
Goes where the answer would be; the word order doesn't change.
你为什么哭？
nǐ wèi shén me kū
Why are you crying?
Character composition
为
for, because of
什
what
么
question suffix
Radicals / Keys
丶
Dot
#3 · zhǔ · 1 stroke
丿
Slash
#4 · piě · 1 stroke
人
Man
#9 · rén · 2 strokes
Synonyms
Examples
你为什么不去上班？
Why aren't you going to work?
你为什么来
Why did you come?
Mnemonic
[wèi shénme-] Wayne and Sherman are dressed as giant question marks, asking themselves 为什么 "WHY?" 🤔. They've done it for a carnival, pondering what 什 fun it brings and how 么 it makes everyone laugh, adding a sense of whimsy to their day.
Frequently asked questions
Why in Chinese language?
"why?" in Chinese is 为什么 (wèi shénme).
为什么 meaning in English
为什么 (wèi shénme) means "Why?".
How is 为什么 pronounced?
It is pronounced wèi shénme (written as wei shenme, weishenme). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "why?" in Chinese characters?
It is written 为什么: 为 has 4 strokes, 什 has 4 strokes, 么 has 3 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 为什么?
为什么 belongs to the HSK 2 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 为什么
More HSK 2 words
起床
qǐ chuáng
To get up from bed
离
lí
To leave, to be separated, to be a distance from...
介绍
jièshào
To introduce someone/something; to present
件
jiàn
(classifier for things, clothing, events)
公共
汽车
汽车
gōnggòng qìchē
Public bus
吧
ba
(particle expressing suggestion, guess, etc.)
告诉
gàosu
To tell someone
往
wǎng
(preposition) toward, in the direction of...; past