为什么

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese word 为什么 (wèishénme) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 为 (wèi) and 什么 (shénme). The character 为 (wèi) originally meant "to do" or "to act", but in modern Chinese it is often used as a preposition meaning "for" or "because of". The character 什么 (shénme) is a question word meaning "what" or "why".The word 为什么 (wèishénme) is therefore literally translated as "for what reason?" or "because of what?". It is used to ask questions about the reason or cause of something. For example, you could use 为什么 (wèishénme) to ask "Why is the sky blue?" or "Why are you late?"The word 为什么 (wèishénme) is a very common word in Chinese, and it is important for HSK learners to be familiar with its meaning and usage.