"why" in seven languages

Meaningwhy

Spanish

por qué

/poɾ ˈke/

other source · Spanish por 'for' + qué 'what'

French

pourquoi

/puʁkwa/

other source · French pour 'for' + quoi 'what'

Italian

perché

/perˈke/

other source · Italian per 'for' + che 'what'

Portuguese

por que

/poh ke/

other source · Portuguese por 'for' + que 'what'

Written apart in questions, but porque 'because' as one word.

Romanian

de ce

/de tʃe/

other source · Romanian de 'of' + ce 'what'

Catalan

per què

/pər kɛ/

other source · Catalan per 'for' + què 'what'

English

why

/waɪ/

native English · Old English hwȳ

English → ItalianwhyperchéNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh.What English and Italian share

The story

All three ask 'for what?', built from their own pieces. Italian perché is also 'because', so a question and its answer can start with the same word.