なぜ去ったのですか？
naze satta no desu ka?
To ask why did you leave? In Japanese, say なぜ去ったのですか？ (naze satta no desu ka?). It politely asks the reason someone left a place or situation.
なぜ去ったのですか？ is a general, polite question about why someone went away. When the leaving means quitting a job, Japanese uses a different verb, as in the formal なぜ退職(たいしょく)されたのですか？
What does it mean word for word?
なぜ means why, 去った is the past form of the verb for leaving and のですか turns the sentence into a polite question asking for an explanation.
Which one should you use?
Starting with どうして instead of なぜ, as in どうして去ったのですか？, sounds a little more natural and less stiff in polite conversation. なんで去ったの？ is a very casual version for friends. For leaving a job, なぜ退職(たいしょく)されたのですか？ is formal and なんで辞(や)めたの？ is informal.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
なぜ去ったのですか？ is polite. どうして去ったのですか？ is polite and conversational. なんで去ったの？ and なんで辞(や)めたの？ are informal.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai dialect, someone asking why a person quit might say なんで辞(や)めはったん？
How do you pronounce it?
Say naze satta no desu ka? with a short stop on the double t in satta and a rising tone at the end, as in an English question.
Did you know?
- Using なぜ to ask why someone left a party can sound like a scene from a police interrogation rather than a casual conversation.
- To avoid sounding like they are demanding a justification, Japanese speakers often omit the word for 'why' entirely and use a questioning tone to invite a volunteer response.
- While 'leave' in English is used for both leaving a room and leaving a marriage, the Japanese verb 去る implies a permanent departure or physical distancing.
Examples in context
- 彼はなぜ去ったのですか？Kare wa naze satta no desu ka?Why did he leave?
- あの時、なぜ去ったのですか？Ano toki, naze satta no desu ka?Why did you leave at that time?
Example conversation
Kenta asks Yui why she left a party early.
- 健太 Kenta結衣さん、なぜ去ったのですか？Yui-san, naze satta no desu ka?Yui, why did you leave?
- 結衣 Yui急に気分が悪くなったからです。Kyuu ni kibun ga waruku natta kara desu.Because I suddenly felt unwell.
- 健太 Kentaそれは大変でしたね。Sore wa taihen deshita ne.That must have been hard.
- 結衣 Yui今はもう大丈夫です。Ima wa mou daijoubu desu.I am okay now.
