why
Part of speech: adv
noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English why, from Old English hwȳ (“why”), from Proto-Germanic *hwī (“by what, how”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey, instrumental case of *kʷís (“who”), *kʷid (“what”).
Cognate with Old Saxon hwī (“why”), hwiu (“how; why”), Middle High German wiu (“how, why”), archaic Danish and Norwegian Bokmål hvi (“why”), Norwegian Nynorsk kvi (“why”), Swedish vi (“why”), Faroese and Icelandic hví (“why”), Latin quī (“why”), Doric Greek πεῖ (peî, “where”), Ukrainian чи (čy, “if”), Polish czy, Czech či (“or”), Serbo-Croatian či (“if”). Compare Old English þȳ (“because, since, on that account, therefore, then”, literally “by that, for that”). See thy.
Inflected forms:
form: whys
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: why's
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: whies
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: whys
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: whies
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: whying
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: whyed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whyed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: whied
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: whied
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: For what cause, reason, or purpose.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Why is the sky blue?
Why did you do that?
I don’t know why he did that
Tell me why the moon changes phase.
Why do you have a map of the world?
gloss: For what cause, reason, or purpose.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Why don't you ask her out for dinner?
gloss: For what cause, reason, or purpose.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Why spend money on something you already get for free?
Why not tell him how you feel?
gloss: For what cause, reason, or purpose.
pos: adv
tags: interrogative
not-comparable
examples: Why him? Why not someone taller?
gloss: For which cause, reason, or purpose.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
relative
examples: That's the reason why I did that.
gloss: The cause, reason, or purpose for which.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: That is why the sky is blue.
Why most of us volunteer is that we need some fresh air.
Plastics are energy-rich substances, which is why many of them burn so readily. Any organism that could unlock and use that energy would do well in the Anthropocene. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi which can manage this trick are already familiar to experts in the field.
gloss: Reason.
pos: noun
examples: A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.
I don't want to know the whys or the wherefores of your decision.
Within months of leaving, she became the new owner of Dream Body Recovery in Miami, which has three rooms that can accommodate up to six clients. “Being a part of this journey with other ladies, knowing how it changed my life, that’s my why,” she told me.
gloss: To ask (someone) the question "why?".
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
transitive
examples: Why indeed? But once you start whying, there's no end to it.
Synonyms: how come
to what end
what for
why so
for why
wherefore
Translations:
lang: Abkhaz
word: ахьԥа
roman: axʲpa
lang: Abkhaz
word: иахьԥа
roman: jaxʲpa
lang: Afrikaans
word: waarom
lang: Afrikaans
word: hoekom
lang: Alabama
word: sáhmi
lang: Albanian
word: pse
lang: Albanian
word: përse
lang: Southern Altai
word: нениҥ учун
roman: neniŋ učun
lang: Southern Altai
word: не керек
roman: ne kerek
lang: Southern Altai
word: кай
roman: kay
lang: American Sign Language
word: OpenB@Sfhead Y@FromSfhead
lang: Amharic
word: ለምን
roman: lämn
lang: Arabic
word: لِمَاذَا
roman: limāḏā
lang: Arabic
word: لِمَ
roman: lima
lang: Chadian Arabic
word: مالا
roman: māla
lang: Arabic
word: ليه
roman: lēh
lang: Arabic
word: لِيش
roman: lēš
lang: Arabic
word: لِيش
roman: lēš
lang: Arabic
word: ليه
roman: lē
lang: Arabic
word: علاش
roman: ʕlāš
lang: Arabic
word: علياش
roman: ʕlayāš
lang: Arabic
word: علاه
roman: ʕlāh
lang: Arabic
word: لاش
roman: lāš
lang: Arabic
word: لاه
roman: lāh
lang: Arabic
word: لِيش
roman: lēš
lang: Arabic
word: ليه
roman: lē
lang: Arabic
word: لِيش
roman: lēš
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܠܡܵܐ
roman: lemā
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܠܡܘܿܢ
roman: lmōn
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܩܵܡܘܿܕܝܼ
roman: qāmōdī
lang: Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
word: ܩܲܝ
roman: qay
lang: Armenian
word: ինչու
roman: inčʻu
lang: Armenian
word: խի
roman: xi
lang: Armenian
word: հեր
roman: her
lang: Old Armenian
word: էր
roman: ēr
lang: Old Armenian
word: հիմ
roman: him
lang: Old Armenian
word: իմ
roman: im
lang: Old Armenian
word: ընդէր
roman: əndēr
lang: Old Armenian
word: էրում
roman: ērum
lang: Old Armenian
word: զի
roman: zi
lang: Old Armenian
word: զմէ
roman: zmē
lang: Assamese
word: কিয়
roman: kiy
lang: Assamese
word: কেলেই
roman: kelei
lang: Assamese
word: কেলৈ
roman: keloi
lang: Asturian
word: por qué
lang: Azerbaijani
word: niyə
lang: Azerbaijani
word: nə üçün
lang: Bakhtiari
word: سیچی
roman: sičē
lang: Bakhtiari
word: سیچه
roman: sičē
lang: Bangi
word: boni
lang: Bashkir
word: ни өсөн
roman: ni ösön
lang: Bashkir
word: ниңә
roman: niñə
lang: Basque
word: zergatik
lang: Belarusian
word: чаму́
roman: čamú
lang: Bengali
word: কেন
roman: keno
lang: Central Bikol
word: bakin
lang: Central Bikol
word: nata
lang: Central Bikol
word: tano
lang: Central Bikol
word: hadaw
lang: Breton
word: perak
lang: Bulgarian
word: защо́
roman: zaštó
lang: Burmese
word: ဘာဖြစ်လို့
roman: bhahpraclui.
lang: Catalan
word: per què
lang: Cebuano
word: ngano
lang: Central Atlas Tamazight
word: ⵎⴰⵅ
roman: max
lang: Chechen
word: хӏунда
roman: hunda
lang: Cherokee
word: ᎦᏙᏃ
roman: gadono
lang: Chichewa
word: chifukwa chiyani
lang: Chickasaw
word: katimi ta
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 點解 /点解
roman: dim² gaai²
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 為乜 /为乜
roman: wai⁶ mat¹
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 做乜
roman: zou⁶ mat¹
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 做乜嘢
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 做咩
roman: zou⁶ me¹
lang: Chinese
word: виса
roman: visa
lang: Chinese
word: захуэй
roman: zahuey
lang: Hakka Chinese
word: 做麼個 /做么个
roman: cho-mak-ke
lang: Chinese
word: 物代
roman: mih-tāi
lang: Chinese
word: 為甚物 /為什物 /为什物
roman: ūi-sím-mi̍h
lang: Chinese
word: 為啥物 /为啥物
roman: ūi-siáⁿ-mih, ūi-siáⁿ-mi̍h, ūi-siáⁿ-mí
lang: Chinese
word: 是按怎
roman: sī-án-chóaⁿ, sī-án-nóa, sī-án-ná
lang: Chinese
word: 因何
roman: in-hô
lang: Chinese
word: 為何 /为何
roman: zh-min-nan
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 為甚麼 /為什麼 /为什么
roman: wèishénme
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 怎麼 /怎么
roman: zěnme
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 為何 /为何
roman: wèihé
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 幹嗎 /幹嘛
roman: gànmá
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 為啥 /为啥
roman: wèishá
lang: Wu Chinese
word: 啥體 /啥体
lang: Wu Chinese
word: 為啥 /为啥
roman: ⁶we-sa
lang: Xiang Chinese
word: 為麼子 /为么子
roman: uei⁵ mo³ zr
lang: Xiang Chinese
word: 何解
lang: Chinook Jargon
word: pus-ikta
lang: Chinook Jargon
word: kahta
lang: Chukchi
word: иаʼм
lang: Chuvash
word: мӗншӗн
roman: mĕnš̬ĕn
lang: Cornish
word: prag
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: ne içün
lang: Crimean Tatar
word: ne sebepten
lang: Czech
word: proč
lang: Danish
word: hvorfor
lang: Deccani
word: کئیکو
lang: Dhivehi
word: ކީއްވެ
roman: kīvve
lang: Dutch
word: waarom
lang: Egyptian
word: ḥr zj jšst
lang: Erzya
word: мекс
roman: meks
lang: Erzya
word: мезекс
roman: mezeks
lang: Erzya
word: мейс
roman: mejs
lang: Esperanto
word: kial
lang: Estonian
word: miks
lang: Faroese
word: hví
lang: Finnish
word: miksi
lang: Finnish
word: mitä varten
lang: Finnish
word: minkä tähden
lang: Finnish
word: minkä vuoksi
lang: French
word: pourquoi
lang: Middle French
word: parquoy
lang: West-Frisian
word: wêrom
lang: Galician
word: por qué
lang: Galician
word: e logo
lang: Georgian
word: რატომ
roman: raṭom
lang: Georgian
word: რისთვის
roman: ristvis
lang: German
word: warum
lang: German
word: wieso
lang: German
word: weshalb
lang: German
word: weswegen
lang: Gothic
word: 𐌳𐌿𐍈𐌴
roman: duƕē
lang: Greek
word: γιατί
roman: giatí
lang: Ancient Greek
word: τί
roman: tí
lang: Ancient Greek
word: διὰ τί
roman: dià tí
lang: Greek
word: γιάντα
roman: giánta
lang: Cypriot Greek
word: γιαείντα
roman: giaeínta
lang: Greenlandic
word: sooq
lang: Mbya Guarani
word: mba'e re
lang: Hawaiian
word: aha
lang: Hebrew
word: לָמָּה
lang: Hebrew
word: לָמָה
roman: láma
lang: Hebrew
word: מַדּוּעַ
roman: madúa’
lang: Hiligaynon
word: ngaa
lang: Hindi
word: क्यों
roman: kyõ
lang: Hindi
word: क्यूँ
roman: kyū̃
lang: Hungarian
word: miért
lang: Ibanag
word: ngatta
lang: Icelandic
word: af hverju
lang: Ido
word: pro quo
lang: Ilocano
word: apay
lang: Indonesian
word: mengapa
lang: Indonesian
word: kenapa
lang: Ingrian
word: miks
lang: Ingrian
word: minen peräst
lang: Irish
word: cad chuige
lang: Irish
word: cén fáth
lang: Irish
word: canathaobh
lang: Old Irish
word: cid ara
lang: Italian
word: perché
lang: Jamaican Creole
word: wa mek
lang: Japanese
word: 何故
roman: naze
lang: Japanese
word: なんで
roman: nande
lang: Japanese
word: どうして
roman: dōshite
lang: Japanese
word: 何故
roman: naniyue
lang: Judeo-Italian
word: פֵיר קֵי
lang: Kannada
word: ಏಕೆ
roman: ēke
lang: Kannada
word: ಯಾಕೆ
roman: yāke
lang: Kapampangan
word: obakit
lang: Kapampangan
word: bakit
lang: Kapampangan
word: obat
lang: Kapampangan
word: ot
lang: Karachay-Balkar
word: нек
roman: nek
lang: Kashmiri
word: کیٛازِ
roman: kyāzi
lang: Kashmiri
word: क्याज़ि
roman: kyāzi
lang: Kazakh
word: неге
roman: nege
lang: Khakas
word: ноға
roman: noğa
lang: Khmer
word: ហេតុអ្វី
roman: haet ʼaʼvəy
lang: Khmer
word: ហេតុអី
roman: haet ʼəy
lang: Kikuyu
word: nĩkĩ
lang: Kikuyu
word: nĩ ũndũ kĩ
lang: Korean
word: 왜
roman: wae
lang: Krio
word: wetin mek
lang: Kumyk
word: неге
roman: nege
lang: Kumyk
word: не учун
roman: ne uçun
lang: Central Kurdish
word: بۆ
roman: bo
lang: Central Kurdish
word: لەبەر چی
roman: leber çî
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: çima
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: çira
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: bo çi
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: ji ber çi
lang: Kyrgyz
word: эмне үчүн
roman: emne ücün
lang: Kyrgyz
word: неге
roman: nege
lang: Kyrgyz
word: эмнеге
roman: emnege
lang: Kyrgyz
word: эмнеден
roman: emneden
lang: Lao
word: ເປັນຫຍັງ
roman: pen nyang
lang: Latgalian
word: parkū
lang: Latgalian
word: deļkuo
lang: Latin
word: cūr
lang: Latin
word: quārē
lang: Latvian
word: kāpēc
lang: Latvian
word: kādēļ
lang: Latvian
word: kālab
lang: Limburgish
word: boerum
lang: Limburgish
word: veurwat
lang: Limburgish
word: woerum
lang: Lithuanian
word: kodėl
lang: Lutuv
word: khaanakaw
lang: Luxembourgish
word: firwat
lang: Macanese
word: qui-foi
lang: Macanese
word: cuza
lang: Macedonian
word: зошто
roman: zošto
lang: Malay
word: mengapa
lang: Malay
word: kenapa
lang: Malay
word: kena apa
lang: Malay
word: apa kena
lang: Malay
word: apa pasal
lang: Malayalam
word: എന്തുകൊണ്ട്
roman: entukoṇṭŭ
lang: Malayalam
word: എന്തിന്
roman: entinŭ
lang: Maltese
word: għaliex
lang: Māori
word: na te aha
lang: Maranao
word: ngin
lang: Maranao
word: ngkaino
lang: Marathi
word: का
roman: kā
lang: Eastern Mari
word: молан
roman: molan
lang: Moksha
word: мес
roman: mes
lang: Mongolian
word: яагаад
roman: jaagaad
lang: Navajo
word: haʼátʼíísh biniinaa
lang: Neapolitan
word: pecché
lang: Nepali
word: किन
roman: kina
lang: Norman
word: pourtchi
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: hvorfor
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: korfor
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: kvifor
lang: Nǀuu
word: jhisixe
lang: Occitan
word: perqué
lang: Odia
word: କ୍ୟାଂ
roman: Kyāñ
lang: Ojibwe
word: aaniish
lang: Ojibwe
word: aaniin
lang: Ojibwe
word: aanishwin
lang: Old Church Slavonic
word: въскѫѭ
roman: vŭskǫjǫ
lang: Old English
word: hwȳ
lang: Pangasinan
word: akin
lang: Persian
word: چرا
roman: čerâ
lang: Persian
word: برای چی
roman: barâye či
lang: Persian
word: برای چه
roman: barâye če
lang: Pitjantjatjara
word: nyaaku
lang: Polabian
word: jocel
lang: Polish
word: dlaczego
lang: Polish
word: czemu
lang: Polish
word: po co
lang: Polish
word: na co
lang: Portuguese
word: por que
lang: Portuguese
word: por quê
lang: Romani
word: sosθar
lang: Romanian
word: de ce
lang: Romanian
word: pentru ce
lang: Russian
word: почему́
roman: počemú
lang: Russian
word: заче́м
roman: začém
lang: Russian
word: отчего́
roman: otčevó
lang: Samoan
word: 'aiseā
lang: Sanskrit
word: किमर्थं
roman: kimarthaṃ
lang: Sanskrit
word: कुत
roman: kuta
lang: Sanskrit
word: किमर्थम्
roman: kimartham
lang: Scots
word: why
lang: Scottish Gaelic
word: carson
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: за̏што
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: zȁšto
lang: Sinhalese
word: ඇයි
roman: æyi
lang: Slovak
word: prečo
lang: Slovene
word: zakáj
lang: Spanish
word: por qué
lang: Spanish
word: a qué son
lang: Spanish
word: a son de qué
lang: Spanish
word: con qué motivo
lang: Spanish
word: por qué razón
lang: Spanish
word: en razón de qué
lang: Spanish
word: por
lang: Sranan Tongo
word: sanede
lang: Sranan Tongo
word: fu san
lang: Swahili
word: kwaje
lang: Swahili
word: mbona
lang: Swedish
word: varför
lang: Tagalog
word: bakit
lang: Tahitian
word: no te aha
lang: Tajik
word: чаро
roman: čaro
lang: Tamil
word: ஏன்
roman: ēṉ
lang: Tamil
word: எதற்கு
roman: etaṟku
lang: Tashelhit
word: ⵎⴰⵅ
roman: max
lang: Tatar
word: нигә
roman: nigä
lang: Tatar
word: нар ни өчен
roman: nar ni öçen
lang: Tatar
word: ния
roman: niyä
lang: Tausug
word: mayta'
lang: Telugu
word: ఎందుకు
roman: enduku
lang: Thai
word: ทำไม
roman: tam-mai
lang: Thai
word: ไฉน
roman: chà-nǎi
lang: Tibetan
word: ག་རེ་བྱས་ནས
roman: ga re byas nas
lang: Tok Pisin
word: watpo
lang: Tokelauan
word: aiheā
lang: Tongan
word: hā
lang: Turkish
word: neden
lang: Turkish
word: niçin
lang: Turkish
word: niye
lang: Turkmen
word: üçin
lang: Turkmen
word: näme üçin
lang: Tuvan
word: чүге
roman: çüge
lang: Tuvan
word: чоп
roman: çop
lang: Ugaritic
word: 𐎍𐎎
roman: lm
lang: Ukrainian
word: чому́
roman: čomú
lang: Ukrainian
word: чом
roman: čom
lang: Urdu
word: کیوں
roman: kyõ, kyū̃
lang: Urdu
word: کاہے
roman: kāhe
lang: Uyghur
word: نېمە ئۈچۈن
roman: nëme üchün
lang: Uzbek
word: nega
lang: Veps
word: mihe
lang: Vietnamese
word: sao
lang: Vietnamese
word: vì sao
lang: Vietnamese
word: tại sao
lang: Volapük
word: kikodo
lang: Võro
word: mille
lang: Walloon
word: pocwè
lang: Waray-Waray
word: kay-ano
lang: Welsh
word: pam
lang: Welsh
word: paham
lang: Wutunhua
word: mashema
lang: Yakan
word: we'ey
lang: Yakut
word: тоҕо
roman: toğo
lang: Yakut
word: туохтан
roman: tuoqtan
lang: Yakut
word: туох иһин
roman: tuoq ihin
lang: Yiddish
word: למאַי
roman: lemay
lang: Yiddish
word: פֿאַרוואָס
roman: farvos
lang: Yiddish
word: וואַרום
roman: varum
lang: Yiddish
word: היתּכן
roman: hayitokhn
lang: Yiddish
word: זאַטשעם
roman: zatshem
lang: Yola
word: farthoo
lang: Yoruba
word: kilode
lang: Zazaki
word: çıra
lang: Spanish
word: por que
lang: Spanish
word: por lo que
lang: Spanish
word: por la que