פֿאַרוואָס

Yiddish edit

Etymology edit

From פֿאַר (far, for) +‎ וואָס (vos, what). Possibly influenced by Slavic equivalents, compare Polish dlaczego (why?, literally for what?), Ukrainian наві́що (navíščo, why, for what purpose, to what end?, literally for what?), Russian заче́м (začém, why, what for?, literally for what), Russian за что́ (za štó, why, what for?, literally for what?), для чего (dlja čevo, why, for what reason?, literally for what?). Cognate with (colloquial) German für was (why, for what?), (humorous or nonstandard) English for what (why, for what reason?), see also English what for.

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

פֿאַרוואָס (farvos)

  1. (interrogative) why (for what reason)
    Synonym: למאַי (lemay)