por que

See also: porque, porqué, porquê, por qué, and por quê

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese porque, from Vulgar Latin [Term?]. By surface analysis, por (“for”) +‎ que (“that”). Doublet of porque.

Cognate with Spanish por qué, French pourquoi, Italian perché.

Pronunciation

 
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /puʁ ˈke/ [puh ˈke]
    • (São Paulo) IPA(key): /puɾ ˈke/
    • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /puʁ ˈke/ [puχ ˈke]
    • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /puɻ ˈke/

Adverb

por que (not comparable) (Brazilian Portuguese spelling)

  1. (interrogative) why, what for, for what reason (introduces a question)
    Synonym: por que que
    Por que o céu é azul? ― Why is the sky blue?
    Por que este e não outro? ― Why this one and not another?
    Por que você não chama ela pra sair? ― Why don’t you ask her out?
  2. (relative) why (for which cause, reason, or purpose; introduces a subordinate clause)
    Não sei por que você se foi. ― I don’t know why you left.

Usage notes

  • Although this construction is officially considered unstressed when not clause-final (in which case it is accented, por quê), it is often pronounced with lexical stress regardless of its position in the clause.
  • This construction is not to be confused with literal ones using the words por (“by, through”) and que (“what, which”):
    Por que caminho seguir?
    What path should we follow?
    (literally, “By what path to follow [along]?”)

Further reading

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