Wiktionary

なんで

See also: なんて

Japanese edit

Etymology 1 edit

Alternative spelling
何で

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

なんで • (nande) 

  1. why?
  2. (transport) how? by what means?
    なんでここに来(き)ましたか。
    Nande koko ni kimashita ka.
    How did you get here? (by walking? driving? etc...)
Usage notes edit
  • Chiefly informal language. Although usage of なんで in 丁寧語 does not necessarily violate the register, it has a casual tone, making どうして preferable in most polite contexts.
Synonyms edit

Etymology 2 edit

Particle edit

なんで • (nande) 

  1. (informal) Contraction of なので (na no de).

References edit

  1. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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