How to say “why” in Chinese
why (lit.)
“Why” in Chinese is 为何, wèi hé: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
为何 is read wèi hé: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Its second reading is wéi, “be, do”.
On the left, 亻 “person”; on the right, 可 kě hints at the sound. Sounds like 河 hé “river”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “为何”.
More words from the lesson “As for, and why”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “why” in Chinese?
“Why” in Chinese is 为何, pinyin wèihé.
What does 为何 mean?
为何 (wèihé) means “why (lit.)”.
How do you write 为何?
为何 is 2 characters: 为 (wèi) — for, for the sake of; 何 (hé) — what, which (literary). The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 为何?
为何 is read wèihé. Tones: wèi — fourth tone, hé — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“why” in the lesson “As for, and why”
This word is from the topic “Connectors and particles” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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