why

waɪ
whies
Translation Definition
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Translation of why into German,

Adverb

1.

interrogative

for what reason or purpose
  • Why are you late?Warum bist du zu spät?
2.

fused relative

the reason for which
  • I don't know why she did it.Ich weiß nicht, warum sie es getan hat.

Interjection

emotion

used to express mild surprise or indignation
  • Why, I didn't expect to see you here!Ach, ich habe nicht erwartet, dich hier zu sehen!

Noun

reasoning

purpose or rationale
  • Understanding the why can often provide clarity..Das Verständnis des Zwecks kann oft Klarheit schaffen
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Expressions with why: examples in English and translations in German

Ich sehe keinen Grund, warum nicht
Can I borrow your book? I don't see why not.
warum zum Teufel
um alles in der Welt
Why in the world would you do that?
Frag mich nicht, warum
Don't ask me why he left early today!
Gott weiß warum
He chose the long route, God knows why.
Wer weiß, warum
She left the party early, goodness knows why.
warum zum Teufel
Why in God's name are you shouting?

Synonyms and analogies of why in English

Examples of why in a sentence

  • Why is the sky blue?
  • That's the reason why we need to leave early.
  • I can't understand why he would say such a thing.
  • Why, that's an unexpected gift!
  • Why, I never thought you'd agree!
  • The why behind the decision was unclear.

Translations of "why" in Context ordered by category and frequency

Adverb / Other
warumadv.

She finally caught on to why everyone was avoiding her calls.

Sie hat irgendwann kapiert, warum alle ihre Anrufe gemieden haben.

wiesoadv./conj.

You still haven't told me why I would do this.

Du hast mir nicht verraten, wieso ich das tun sollte.

weshalbadv.

The central bank's fireside chat clarified why interest rates would remain unchanged this year.

Das Kamingespräch der Zentralbank erläuterte, weshalb die Zinssätze dieses Jahr unverändert bleiben würden.

darumadv.

It's why we're able to see them in our dreams.

Sie sagte, darum sehen wir sie in unseren Träumen.

wozuadv./conj.

They should think about why we are here in this world.

Sie sollte darüber nachdenken, wozu man auf der Welt ist.

Noun
derGrundnm.

The claiming proposal outlined the reasons why they deserved more funding.

Der Antrag erläuterte die Gründe, warum sie mehr Förderung verdient hätten.

derZwecknm.

And it is why the German Government established the monitoring process.

Zu diesem Zweck hat die Bundesregierung den Monitoring-Prozess ins Leben gerufen.

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why: Examples and translations in context

The claiming proposal outlined the reasons why they deserved more funding.

Der Antrag erläuterte die Gründe, warum sie mehr Förderung verdient hätten.

We had not the foggiest why the train suddenly stopped at night.

Wir hatten keine Ahnung, warum der Zug nachts plötzlich anhielt.

I hadn't the foggiest why everyone was suddenly staring at me.

Ich hatte keine Ahnung, warum plötzlich alle mich anstarrten.

She can't get her head around why they suddenly fired him.

Sie kann nicht begreifen, warum sie ihn plötzlich entlassen haben.

He couldn't comprehend why she was upset with him.

Er konnte nicht begreifen, warum sie sauer auf ihn war.

We eventually caught on to why the computer kept crashing every evening.

Wir haben irgendwann mitgekriegt, warum der Computer jeden Abend abgestürzt ist.

I finally asked her point-blank why she kept avoiding my calls.

Ich habe sie schließlich direkt gefragt, warum sie meine Anrufe meidet.

The article discussed aging and why dinner lady arms are completely normal.

Der Artikel behandelte das Älterwerden und warum Winkarme völlig normal sind.

See also:

Browse the dictionary entries starting with “w”:
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