‘why in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for ‘why in the English»French Dictionary (Go to French»English)

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I.why [waɪ, Am hwaɪ] ADV Why translates as pourquoi in French, but see II. and III. below for exceptions.
As with other words such as où, quand, comment etc., questions are formed by inserting est-ce que after the question word: why did you go? = pourquoi est-ce que tu y es allé? or by inverting the subject and verb after the question word, which is slightly more formal: pourquoi y es-tu allé? In spoken French the question word can be put at the end: tu y es allé pourquoi?
why occurs with certain reporting verbs such as ask, explain, know, think and wonder. For translations, see these entries.

1. why (in questions):

why
pourquoi
why do you ask?
pourquoi est-ce que tu me poses la question?, pourquoi me poses-tu la question?
why didn't she tell us?
pourquoi est-ce qu'elle ne nous l'a pas dit?, pourquoi ne nous l'a-t-elle pas dit?
why risk everything?
pourquoi tout risquer?
why bother?
pourquoi se tracasser?
‘I'm annoyed’—‘why is that?’
‘je suis vexé’—‘pourquoi?’
why all the fuss?
pourquoi tout ce remue-ménage?
why the delay?
pourquoi ce retard?
why me?
pourquoi moi?
oh no, why me?
oh non, pourquoi est-ce que ça me tombe dessus?
why not somebody else?
pourquoi pas quelqu'un d'autre?
‘it's not possible’—‘why not?’
‘ce n'est pas possible’—‘pourquoi pas?’
‘would you be interested?’—‘why not?’
‘ça t'intéresserait?’—‘pourquoi pas?’
‘can I apply?’—‘I don't see why not’
‘est-ce que je peux m'inscrire?’—‘je ne vois pas pourquoi tu ne pourrais pas’

II.why [waɪ, Am hwaɪ] CONJ

IV.why [waɪ, Am hwaɪ] INTERJ dated

See also wherefore, reason

I.wherefore [Brit ˈwɛːfɔː, Am ˈ(h)wɛrˌfɔr] ADV liter

II.wherefore [Brit ˈwɛːfɔː, Am ˈ(h)wɛrˌfɔr] CONJ archaic

III.wherefore [Brit ˈwɛːfɔː, Am ˈ(h)wɛrˌfɔr]

I.reason [Brit ˈriːz(ə)n, Am ˈrizən] N

1. reason (cause):

reason
raison f (for, behind de)
for a (good) reason
pour une bonne raison
for no (good) reason , without good reason
sans raison valable
not without reason
non sans raison
for some reason or other
pour une raison ou pour une autre
if you are late for any reason
si tu es en retard, pour une raison ou pour une autre
for reasons best known to herself
pour des raisons connues d'elle seule
for the (very) good or simple reason that …
pour la simple et bonne raison que …
for reasons of space/time
pour des raisons de place/temps
for health reasons
pour raisons de santé
I have reason to believe that…
j'ai des raisons de croire que…
by reason of form
en raison de
for that reason I can't do it
c'est pour cette raison or c'est pour cela que je ne peux pas le faire

II.reason [Brit ˈriːz(ə)n, Am ˈrizən] VB trans

View verb table

III.reason [Brit ˈriːz(ə)n, Am ˈrizən] VB intr

View verb table
Your search term in other parts of the dictionary
why the inquisition? hum
pourquoi cet interrogatoire?
(why don't you) just shove off!
tire-toi! inf
(why don't you) just shove off!
fiche-moi le camp! inf
to be puzzled as to why/how
se demander pourquoi/comment
to be perplexed as to why/how
se demander pourquoi/comment
why don't you just sod off!
tu veux pas dégager! sl
why settle for less?
pourquoi se contenter de moins?
why are you so het up?
qu'est-ce que tu as à t'exciter comme ça? inf

Translations for ‘why in the French»English Dictionary (Go to English»French)

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Your search term in other parts of the dictionary
pourquoi
why?
pourquoi est-ce qu'il répète toujours la même chose?
why does he keep repeating the same thing?
pourquoi ce livre?
why this book?
pourquoi ça?
why?
pourquoi donc?
but why?
pourquoi pas ou non?
why not?
pourquoi moi?
why me?
pourquoi des cris?
why all the shouting?
pourquoi je ris?
why am I laughing?
pourquoi cette prudence/tant de mystère?
why so cautious/so mysterious?
pourquoi est-ce que je ne t'ai pas vu?
why didn't I see you?
pourquoi ne pas imaginer un système différent?
why not imagine a different system?
pourquoi ne pas l'avoir fait plus tôt?
why didn't you/we etc do it before?
pourquoi as-tu décidé de partir?
why have you decided to leave?
pourquoi s'en priver?
why deny yourself?
pourquoi
why
sans savoir pourquoi
without knowing why
sans savoir (ni) pourquoi ni comment
without knowing how or why
pourquoi
why?
dis pourquoi tu t'en vas sans moi?
why are you going without me?
pourquoi
why
dis-moi pourquoi tu pleures
tell me why you are crying
c'est pourquoi
that's why
où/comment/pourquoi diantre?
where/how/why on earth?

‘why in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for ‘why in the English»French Dictionary (Go to French»English)

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Your search term in other parts of the dictionary
to investigate how/whether/why ...
rechercher comment/si/pourquoi ...
to give sb an explanation for why ...
expliquer à qn pourquoi ...
why would he do it except to annoy me?
pourquoi est-ce qu'il le ferait à moins que ce ne soit pour m'embêter?
who/where/why on earth ... inf
qui/où/pourquoi donc ...
why else?
pour quelle autre raison?
why don't you come over tomorrow?
pourquoi ne viens-tu pas me voir demain?
to spot why/what ...
entrevoir pourquoi/ce que ...

Translations for ‘why in the French»English Dictionary (Go to English»French)

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‘why Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

nobody was told why he left
personne n'a su pourquoi il était parti
why don't you come over tomorrow?
pourquoi ne viens-tu pas me voir demain?
why don't you stop for a change?
tu ne peux pas t'arrêter un peu, pour changer?
why does it cost that much?
pourquoi est-ce que ça coûte autant?
to give sb an explanation for why ...
expliquer à qn pourquoi ...
why ever did he leave?
pourquoi donc est-il parti?
to know the how(s) and why(s) of sth
savoir le pourquoi et le comment de qc
who/where/why on earth ... inf
qui/où/pourquoi donc ...
to explain to sb why/how sb did sth
expliquer à qn pourquoi/comment qn a fait qc
to look for the how and why
chercher le pourquoi et le comment
American English

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English
She's the reason girls are wearing bodycon catsuits, chokers and why thigh high boots are back.
www.independent.ie
When he says he can not hit her, she asks him why he could do it before when she was defenseless.
en.wikipedia.org
The brittleness of this abrasive coating, and the need to avoid flexure, is why they are made as rings rather than oval bands.
en.wikipedia.org
But why, complained fans, didn't the Walkman run out of battery?
www.telegraph.co.uk
Yet even if stasis is common why suppose that this is bad news for the extrapolationist orthodoxy?
en.wikipedia.org
Why do we need to let it fall victim in peacetime, when we're an affluent society?
www.macleans.ca
And if so, why not go the whole way and stick a camera on the soap dish?
www.telegraph.co.uk
This explains why the white walls stand out from the cornerstones instead of the other way around.
en.wikipedia.org
Even now she complains about having no bellybutton and asks why her friends have one.
www.mayonews.ie
That's why the buildings were designed to be impenetrable.
en.wikipedia.org

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