Chinese

為什麼

/weɪ̯⁵¹ ʂən³⁵ mə³/
why; for what reason; how come
  • TOCFL 2
  • 為甚麼
  • 爲什麼
  • 爲甚麼
  • 为什么

Etymology graph

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Origin

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Lineage

  • characterChinese為 “to do; to accomplish; to take action”
    • simplified fromChinese爲
    • ideaChinese又 “again; once more”
    • ideaChinese象 “elephant (Classifier: 頭／头 m; 隻／只 m c mn)”
  • characterChinese什 “only used in 什麼／什么 (shénme)”
  • characterChinese麼 “A particle placed after the topic of a compound sentence, used to express tactfulness.”
    • soundChinese麻 “general name for hemp, flax, jute, etc.”
      • ideaChinese厂 “cliff; habitable cave on a cliff”
      • ideaChinese𣏟 “ramie”
    • meaningChinese幺 “tiny; minute”

Sources