зачем

Russian

Etymology

Univerbation of the phrase за чем, from the preposition за + чем, instrumental singular of что (što, “what”). This was originally marked as from the Saint Petersburg dialect, Moscow had as late as the 18th century зачто́ (zaštó).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [zɐˈt͡ɕem]
  • Audio(file)

Adverb

заче́м • (začém)

  1. (interrogative adverb) why? (with what object/for what purpose)

Usage notes
  • заче́м (začém) differs from почему́ (počemú) in that the latter simply means, "Why?" while заче́м (začém) means, "What for?" Sometimes the words are interchangeable, but sometimes one is more appropriate than the other.
  • The reply begins with что́бы (štóby) or зате́м, что́бы (zatém, štóby).

See also
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