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為什麼

简为什么 · 繁為什麼

Mandarin · pinyin wèi shén me

why?
for what reason?

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Characters in this entry

為: Look up this written character
什: shén · file of ten soldiers; mixed, miscellaneous
麼: me · interrogative final particle; insignificant, small, tiny
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
么: me · interrogative particle; small

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–5 · wei4 shen2 me5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

為什麼 · find source passages ↗ · 为什么 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adv

why; for what reason; how come

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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