why
HSK level
为什么 (wèi shénme) is the standard Chinese question word for 'why' — literally 'for what (reason).'
It works in spoken and written Chinese and covers both 'what is the cause' (你为什么迟到？why are you late?) and 'what is the purpose' (你为什么学中文？why are you studying Chinese?). Two things differ from English: first, 为什么 stays in its natural position in the sentence — usually right before the verb — so word order does NOT invert the way it does in English ('Why are you late?'
vs 你为什么迟到？). Second, Chinese does not require a question particle like 吗 when 为什么 is present; the question word alone makes it a question. A more colloquial alternative is 怎么 (zěnme), which adds a flavor of surprise: 你怎么迟到了 ('how come you're late?').
Character by character
Memory hook: Literally 'for what' — 为 (for) + 什么 (what). 'For what reason?' = why.
为什么 appears in 13 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
你为什么没来上课？
Nǐ wèi shénme méi lái shàngkè?
Why didn't you come to class?
neutral
我不知道她为什么生气。
Wǒ bù zhīdào tā wèi shénme shēngqì.
I don't know why she's angry.
spoken
你为什么学中文？
Nǐ wèi shénme xué Zhōngwén?
Why are you studying Chinese?
neutral
为什么不试试看？
Wèi shénme bù shìshi kàn?
Why not give it a try?
spoken
为什么 is written with 11 strokes (为: 4, 什: 4, 么: 3). Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
怎么 can also mean 'why' but carries surprise or mild complaint: 你怎么没来？ ('how come you didn't come?'). Use 为什么 for a neutral 'why'; use 怎么 when you're a little surprised or unhappy.
Literary / written form of 为什么. Common in news headlines, formal writing, and song lyrics. In speech it sounds bookish — stick with 为什么.
Acquire it by listening
You just saw 为什么 in 13 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.