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

 

Adverb

por que (not comparable) (Brazilian Portuguese spelling)

  1. (interrogative) why, what for, for what reason (introduces a question)
    Synonyms: por que é que, 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.
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see por,‎ que, and usage notes

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 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 razão tudo mudou assim? ― For what reason did everything change?
    Por que caminho andar? ― By which path to walk?

Further reading

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