なぜ　and　どうして

Kirakira1232

素敵な冒険始まる！

6 May 2008

472

16

• 12 May 2008

• #1

Hi guys

I was wondering I know that both naze and doushite both translate to "why" but whats the difference? Doushite to me seems more like "How is it so?" whereas naze is more like "why..."

Am I on the right track or completely off?

 

Charles Barkley

TNT Basketball Analyst

14 Jun 2007

560

12

• 12 May 2008

• #2

どうして and なぜ are synonyms.

どうして in other contexts can also be used to des to ask 'in what way' (effectively 'how'). This does not change the fact that in other situations, it is identical to なぜ.

なんで is another synonym that means 'why.'

なんで is more informal. I could be wrong, but it also seems like men use なんで more and women どうして, though both sexes use both.

なぜ, to me, has a slightly more rational feel while the others are slightly more emotional.

For all intents and purposes however, feel free to use the three interchangeably, though drop なんで in formal situations...

 

Kirakira1232

素敵な冒険始まる！

6 May 2008

472

16

• 12 May 2008

• Thread starter
• #3

Ahh thanks! I was wondering why in some contexts doushite or naze were being used and I dont think my Japanese tutor understood what i was asking.

 

Tomii515

やった～！

16 Feb 2006

1,206

21

• 12 May 2008

• #4

Are 'nani' and 'nanda' also interchangeable?

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 12 May 2008

• #5

Tomii515 said:

Are 'nani' and 'nanda' also interchangeable?

Click to expand...

Depends on the context.
If it is used to ask "what (did you say/is it/etc.)?" as a complete sentence, yes.
Because in this case, "nanda" is "nan(i)+da".
Otherwise, basically no. (Cannot think of other cases or exception right now...)

 

Toritoribe

松葉解禁

Moderator

Fifteen-year veteran

22 Feb 2008

18,266

4,926

• 12 May 2008

• #6

In addition to Charles Barkley's explaination above, どうして/なんで can be used as どうやって in some contexts.

ここからどうして帰ろう？ ＝ ここからどうやって帰ろう？
How do I/we go back home from here?

東京まではなんで行くの？ ＝ 東京まではどうやって行くの？
What would you use to go to Tokyo?

On the other hand, なぜ is used only for "why" context.

 

M

MMM

Ossan

13 May 2008

14

1

• 13 May 2008

• #7

Tomii515 said:

Are 'nani' and 'nanda' also interchangeable?

Click to expand...

If this is a response to something someone said, then "nani" is like "What did you say? (Can you repeat that?)" where "nanda" is like "What the heck are you saying?"