왜냐하면

Korean

Alternative forms

왜냐면 (waenyamyeon)

Etymology

Literally "if you want to know why." From 왜 (wae, “why”) + the copula 이— (i-, “be”) (elided) + the interrogative suffix —냐 (nya) + 하— (ha-, “say”) + the conditional conjunctive suffix —면 (myeon).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key)[we̞ɲja̠ɦa̠mjʌ̹n]
Phonetic Hangul[왜냐하면]

Revised Romanization^?	waenyahamyeon
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	waenyahamyeon
McCune–Reischauer^?	waenyahamyŏn
Yale Romanization^?	waynyahamyen

Adverb

왜냐하면 • (waenyahamyeon)

because; for the following reason.
오늘 집에 일찍 가야 한다. 왜냐하면 아내가 아프기 때문이다.
Oneul jibe iljjik gaya handa. Waenyahamyeon anaega apeugi ttaemunida.
[I] have to go home early today. It's because [my] wife is sick.