为什么
why
HSK level
- Pinyin
- wèi shénme
- Part of speech
- pronoun
- Level
- HSK 2
- Strokes
- 11
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 2
Stroke order for 为什么
为什么 is written with 11 strokes (为: 4, 什: 4, 么: 3). The animation replays automatically.
What does 为什么 mean?
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.
Hear 为什么 in real episodes
为什么 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
为什么要有这样一个比赛呢？
Why have a contest like this?
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叶军的钟，为什么这么好？
Why is Jun Ye's clock so good?
Jun Ye's Atomic Clock Won't Lose a Second in 15 Billion Years. Now He Has Won the Wolf Prize, Often a Step Before the Nobel.
Example sentences
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
Common phrases with 为什么
Synonyms
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.
Don't confuse 为什么 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 为什么 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 为什么 in 2 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.