wessentwegen

German

Etymology

wessen + -t- + wegen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛsəntˌveːɡən/, /ˌvɛsəntˈveːɡən/

Adverb

wessentwegen

1. (formal, dated) because of whom

   Wessentwegen warten all die Fotografen vor dem Hotel?

   Because of whom are all those photographers waiting in front of the hotel?

Usage notes

Formal standard German generally requires the genitive case with wegen (“because of”), but the dative case must be used whenever an adequate genitive form does not exist. Since wessentwegen now has an old-fashioned and possibly pedantic ring to it, the dative construction wegen wem is acceptable in formal writing. One might, however, prefer to rephrase a particular sentence so as to avoid both.

Related terms

• dessentwegen
• derentwegen

Further reading

• “wessentwegen” in Duden online