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何故

なぜ

why; how come; for what reason

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 何故そう思うのですか。

    なぜそうおもうのですか。

    Why do you think so?

  2. あなたは何故まだ働いているの。

    あなたはなぜまだはたらいているの。

    How come you're still working?

  3. 彼が何故あんな決断をしたのか、今になっても誰にも説明できない。

    かれがなぜあんなけつだんをしたのか、いまになってもだれにもせつめいできない。

    Even now nobody can explain why he made a decision like that.

Common patterns

何故なら
because; the reason is that
何故か
for some reason
何故だろう
I wonder why

Memory tip

何故 is usually written なぜ in kana; the kanji form belongs to writing. It is a shade more formal and analytical than どうして, and far more so than the casual なんで. 何故なら is the written 'because' that opens the following sentence.

Kanji in this word

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What does 何故 mean?