How do you say "why" in Spanish?
Quick answer
“Why” in Spanish is "¿por qué?", two words with an accent on the é. The answer “because” is “porque”, one word with no accent. “El porqué” (one word, accent) is a noun meaning “the reason.”
English uses two different words, why and because. Spanish uses almost the same letters for both, so spacing and accents make all the difference.
The four forms
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Por qué? | Why? (question) | ¿Por qué estás triste? (Why are you sad?) |
| Porque | Because | Estoy triste porque llueve. (I’m sad because it’s raining.) |
| El porqué | The reason (noun) | No entiendo el porqué de su decisión. (I don’t understand the reason for her decision.) |
| Por que | For which / that (rare) | Esa es la razón por (la) que vine. (That’s the reason why I came.) |
Easy ways to remember
- Questions get an accent. Spanish question words like qué, cómo, dónde and cuándo carry accents, so por qué does too.
- “Because” is one word, just as in English.
- If you can put “el” in front, it’s “porqué.” El porqué = the why, the reason.
Indirect questions still use “por qué”
Even without question marks, por qué keeps its accent when it means “why”:
- No sé por qué se fue. (I don’t know why he left.)
Pronunciation
Por qué sounds like “por-KEH”, with the stress on the second word. Porque sounds like “POR-keh”, stressed on the first syllable.
Learning other languages? See how to translate Turkish to English. For everyday English greetings, read what “what up” means.
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