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why / whyfor / wherefore

Polish

why = czemu , dlaczego
whyfor / what for ? / to what end = po co ? w jakim celu ?- In Polish is used to inquire about the purpose, meaning, or destination of an action, phenomenon, or thing, focusing on the future and the expected result.

wherefore - literary, archaic (why) = dlaczego

I was just wondering if "czemu?" and "dlaczego?" can be used interchangeably ?

The difference between Polish "czemu" and "dlaczego" is subtle; ‘dlaczego’ is a more neutral and universal form, while "czemu" is more literary, emotional, or used in questions about feelings, and is considered by some to be less correct.


in witness whereof/thereof = w dowód czego/tego

And what is it like in your language ?
The most widespread translation is spelled por que in Brazil and porque in Portugal (also por quê and porquê in a few situations). Por que motivo or Com que intuito, among others, could also be used.
Greek:

Why: MoGr indeclinable particle «γιατί» [ʝaˈt̠i], the product of synizesis and elision of the initial letter, of the Ancient Greek interrogative phrase «διά τί;» --> what for? why? (διά τί /ðjɐ ti/ > (削除) δ (削除ここまで)γιά τί /ʝa ti/).

Whyfor: Idem.

Wherefore: MoGr indeclinable particle «διότι» [ðiˈo̞.t̠i] < Ancient Greek conjunction «διότι» /diˈo.ti/ --> because, for the reason, wherefore, a compound of the apocopic «δι'» /di/ of the conjunction «διά» /diˈɐ/ (for its etymology see previously) + conjunction «ὅτι» /ˈho.ti/.
Catalan

why = per què [pər ˈkɛ, Bal. pər ˈkə, W. per ˈke] (Literally, 'for/due to what?')
- It must be written separately, otherwise it means 'because':
- Per què hi vas anar? Why did you go there?​
- Perquè em venia de gust. Because I felt like it.​

what for? = per a què [pərə'kɛ, Bal. pərə'kə, W. pera'ke] (Literally, for/to/towards/in order to what?')
- Oftentimes, specially in spoken Catalan, per què is used, without the a preposition, so that one must guess whether it's 'why' or 'what for' depending on the context.
In Slovenian, we have zakaj? (why? what is the reason this is happening?) and čemu? (why? what do you want to achieve by doing this?)

Čemu is stressed on the u.
Catalan

why = per què [pər ˈkɛ, Bal. pər ˈkə, W. per ˈke] (Literally, 'for/due to what?')
- It must be written separately, otherwise it means 'because':
- Per què hi vas anar? Why did you go there?​
- Perquè em venia de gust. Because I felt like it.​

what for? = per a què [pərə'kɛ, Bal. pərə'kə, W. pera'ke] (Literally, for/to/towards/in order to what?')
- Oftentimes, specially in spoken Catalan, per què is used, without the a preposition, so that one must guess whether it's 'why' or 'what for' depending on the context.
Thanks !
perché (Italian)

Etymology​

Univerbation of per ("for") +‎ che ("which"), probably inherited from Vulgar Latin. Compare Neapolitan pecché, Sicilian pirchì, and further Romance parallels such as Sardinian pro chite, French pourquoi, Spanish porque/por qué, Portuguese porque/por que.

Conjunction

perché
because, why

L'ho fatto perché volevo. ― I did it because I wanted to.
(+ subj.) so, so that, in order that
L'ho fatto perché potesse essere libero. ― I did it so that he could be free.
Adverb
perché

why
Synonym: come mai ( why, how come )
Come mai non sei venuto alla festa? ― Why didn't you come to the party?
Perché il cielo è azzurro? ― Why is the sky blue?

perché mai = why on Earth
Greek:

Why: MoGr indeclinable particle «γιατί» [ʝaˈt̠i], the product of synizesis and elision of the initial letter, of the Ancient Greek interrogative phrase «διά τί;» --> what for? why? (διά τί /ðjɐ ti/ > (削除) δ (削除ここまで)γιά τί /ʝa ti/).

Whyfor: Idem.

Wherefore: MoGr indeclinable particle «διότι» [ðiˈo̞.t̠i] < Ancient Greek conjunction «διότι» /diˈo.ti/ --> because, for the reason, wherefore, a compound of the apocopic «δι'» /di/ of the conjunction «διά» /diˈɐ/ (for its etymology see previously) + conjunction «ὅτι» /ˈho.ti/.
Thanks !

Just for my information ;)

From *δισά (disá), from Proto-Indo-European *dwís ("twice, in two") (related to δίς (dís, "twice") and δύο (dúo, "two").
Cognates include Latin dis- and Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐍃- (dis-).
I was just wondering if "czemu?" and "dlaczego?" can be used interchangeably ?
For what it's worth, Russian consistently contrasts "why", "for what reason" and "what for", "to what end":
1. why, for what reason: почему (pochemú, lit. ~"along what"), + also stylistically marked отчего (otchegó, lit. "from what") and plainly colloquial чего (сhegó, lit. "of what").
2. what for, to what end: зачем (zachém - most literally, "behind what") + phraseological для чего (dlyá chegó, lit. "for what").
While in certain contexts they can be used interchangeably (e.g. "he wanted something" could be both the intent and the perceived cause behind someone's action), there are obvious logical restrictions.
For what it's worth, Russian consistently contrasts "why", "for what reason" and "what for", "to what end":
1. why, for what reason: почему (pochemú, lit. ~"along what"), + also stylistically marked отчего (otchegó, lit. "from what") and plainly colloquial чего (сhegó, lit. "of what").
2. what for, to what end: зачем (zachém - most literally, "behind what") + phraseological для чего (dlyá chegó, lit. "for what").
While in certain contexts they can be used interchangeably (e.g. "he wanted something" could be both the intent and the perceived cause behind someone's action), there are obvious logical restrictions.
Thanks Awwal12!

Вопрос "Зачем" можно заменить на следующие вопросы: "с какой целью?", "для какой цели?", "для чего?"

Вопрос "Почему" можно заменить на следующие вопросы: "что к этому привело?", "что вас заставило это сделать/так подумать?", "по какой причине?"

Pytanie „Po co" (dlaczego) można zastąpić następującymi pytaniami: „w jakim celu?", „do czego?", „po co?".

Pytanie „Dlaczego" '' czemu'' można zastąpić następującymi pytaniami: „co do tego doprowadziło?", „co skłoniło cię do tego/takiego myślenia?", „z jakiego powodu?".

The question "Зачем"’ can be replaced with the following questions: ‘For what purpose?’, ‘For what reason?’, ‘What for?’

The question "Почему" can be replaced with the following questions: ‘What led to this?’, ‘What made you do/think that?’, ‘For what reason?’


Это займёт у меня слишком много времени, чтобы объяснить, почему это не будет работать.

Wyjaśnienie, dlaczego to nie zadziała, zajęłoby mi zbyt dużo czasu.


Перестань ходить вокруг да около и прямо скажи мне, почему ты так зол.

Przestań owijać w bawełnę i mów, czemu jesteś taki zły.
Это займёт у меня слишком много времени, чтобы объяснить, почему это не будет работать.
Here AI quite apparently calques English syntax - and in an obviously wrong way (meaning "that'll take too much time from me, with the purpose of explaining why this won't work"). :)
I'd stick to plain слишком долго объяснять, почему это не будет работать (literally "too long to explain why this won't work").
In French, one must distinguish between "pourquoi ?" (why?) and "pour quoi ?" (what for?).

Usually the question "pourquoi ?" is followed by an answer like "parce que..." (because), while "pour quoi ?" is followed by an answer like "pour..." (for/to).

For example:

Pourquoi :
- Pourquoi se bat-il ? (Why is he fighting?)
- Parce qu'il a été insulté (Because he was insulted)

Pour quoi :
- Pour quoi se bat-il ? (What is he fighting for?)
- Pour défendre ses droits (To defend his rights)
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