为什么

Character by character

• 为wèi4 strokesHSK 2 traditional 為do, handle, govern, act; be
• 什shén4 strokesHSK 1file of ten soldiers; mixed, miscellaneous
• 么me3 strokesHSK 1 traditional 幺interrogative particle; small

Each character links to its stroke order page with a tracing and a writing exercise.

Example sentences

• 为什么？

  Wèi shén me

  Why?

  Listen

• 为什么不？

  Wèi shén me bù

  Why not?

  Listen

• 为什么是我？

  Wèi shén me shì wǒ

  Why me?

  Listen

Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR), contributed by their community.

Words with the same characters

These words share at least one character with 为什么. Reading them together is how the character starts to stick — the same characters in a different context.

• 什么shén meHSK 1

  what?; something; anything

• 为wèiHSK 2

  because of; for; to

• 因为yīn wèiHSK 2

  because; owing to; on account of

• 怎么zěn meHSK 1

  how?; what?; why?

• 那么nà meHSK 2

  like that; in that way; or so; so; so very much; about; in that case

• 这么zhè meHSK 2

  so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this

• 认为rèn wéiHSK 2

  to believe; to think; to consider; to feel

• 为了wèi leHSK 3

  for; for the purpose of; in order to

• 成为chéng wéiHSK 2

  to become; to turn into

• 作为zuò wéiHSK 4

  one's conduct; deed; activity; accomplishment; achievement; to act as; as (in the capacity of); qua; to view as; to look upon (sth as); to take sth to be

• 以为yǐ wéiHSK 2

  to think (i.e. to take it to be true that ...) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is mistaken – except when expressing one's own current opinion.)

• 行为xíng wéiHSK 2

  action; conduct; behavior; activity

• 怎么样zěn me yàngHSK 2

  how?; how about?; how was it?; how are things?

• 怎么办zěn me bànHSK 2

  what's to be done

• 没什么méi shén meHSK 1

  nothing; it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind

• 多么duō meHSK 2

  how (wonderful etc); what (a great idea etc); however (difficult it may be etc); (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc); to what extent

• 什么样shén me yàngHSK 2

  what kind?; what sort?

• 为何wèi héHSK 6

  why

• 为止wéi zhǐHSK 5

  until; (used in combination with words like 到 or 至 in constructs of the form 到...到...为止)

• 要么yào meHSK 6

  or; either one or the other

• 为此wèi cǐHSK 6

  for this reason; with regards to this; in this respect; in order to do this; to this end

• 干什么gàn shén meHSK 1

  what are you doing?; what's he up to?

• 称为chēng wéiHSK 3

  to be called; to be known as; to call it "..."

• 视为shì wéiHSK 5

  to view as; to see as; to consider to be; to deem