por qué mamá
/poɾ ke mama/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "why mom" is por qué mamá.
A question used to ask one's mother for the reason behind something.
How do you pronounce it?
/poɾ ke mama/
Did you know?
- The word qué in por qué comes from the Latin quid, which literally means 'what', making the phrase translate more like 'for what' than 'why'.
- In many Spanish-speaking households, asking por qué can sometimes be perceived as more confrontational than it is in English, depending on the tone used.
- The word mamá is an example of a nursery word, echoing the universal 'ma' sound that infants make across many different language families.
Example conversation
Lucía is asking her mother about a rule, while Alejandro listens.
- LucíaNo puedes comer dulces hoy.You can't eat sweets today.
- Alejandro¿Por qué mamá, si ya hice la tarea?Why mom, if I already did my homework?
- LucíaPorque vamos a cenar fuera.Because we are going out to dinner.
- Alejandro¡Qué bien!That's great!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
