varför
/¹varfœr/
The Swedish word for 'why' is varför.
varför is an interrogative adverb used to ask for a reason, functioning much like the English 'why'. You can intensify this question by adding så to the end, forming Varför så, which translates to 'Why on earth?' or 'Why would that be?' to express surprise or concern.
Meaning: (interrogative) for what reason (adv)
Which one should you use?
While varför is used to ask 'why', the related form därför means 'therefore' or 'that is why'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
varför is used to ask for a reason, behaving similarly to the English 'why'.
How do you pronounce it?
/¹varfœr/
Did you know?
- The Swedish varför is a linguistic cousin to the archaic English word 'wherefore', which appears in famous literature like Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'.
- When someone asks varför in a rhetorical or annoyed sense, Swedes may answer with bara för att, which translates to 'just because'.
- The word varför is a compound of two distinct parts: var, meaning 'what', and för, meaning 'for'.
Examples in context
- Varför sa du ja?Why did you say yes?This is useful for asking for the reason someone said yes using varför.Tatoeba #4326105 by richke, translation #3818360 by CK
- Varför är de här?Why are they here?This is useful for asking the reason something or someone is present using varför.Tatoeba #910666 by Tximist, translation #874816 by CK
- Varför sa Tom så?Why did Tom say that?This is useful for asking for the reason behind a specific statement made by a person using varför.Tatoeba #2090817 by herrsilen, translation #1886522 by CK
- Varför har vi inte fått svar från kunden ännu?Why haven't we received a response from the client yet?
- Varför då? Jag förstår inte.Why? I don't understand.
- Hur kommer det sig att du inte kom?Why didn't you come?
- 523 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Oscar and Alice are talking about a cancelled trip.
- OscarVarför ställde vi in resan?Why did we cancel the trip?
- AliceDet blev för dyrt.It became too expensive.
- OscarMen varför sa du inget igår?But why didn't you say anything yesterday?
- AliceJag visste inte säkert.I wasn't sure.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “why” translations and entries varför, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries varför, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
