Asking "How" and "Why" with 'Как' and 'Почему'

1. Asking "How?" with Как?

The Russian word for "how" is как [kak]. You've already encountered it in one of the most common phrases: Как дела? (How are you?).

Как is used to ask about the manner or way in which something is done.

• Как это работает? — How does this work?
• Как ты это рисуешь? — How are you drawing that?
• Как пройти этот уровень в игре? — How do I pass this level in the game?

A common point of confusion for beginners is the phrase Как тебя зовут? (What is your name?). While it's translated as "What," it literally means "How are you called?". This is an exception. In almost all other cases, как means "how."

Let's watch a video that clarifies this point and gives other examples.

To see more examples and practice your pronunciation, let's look at a short reading.

Quick Practice

Translate the following questions into Russian using Как.

1. How do you say this in Russian?
2. How are you? (formal)
3. How does one play this game?

2. Asking "Why?" with Почему?

To ask for a reason, you use the word почему [pa-che-MOO].

The most common way to answer a почему question is by starting your sentence with потому что [pa-ta-MOO shto], which means "because."

• Вопрос (Question): Почему ты учишь русский? (Why are you learning Russian?)
• Ответ (Answer): Потому что я хочу читать русскую литературу. (Because I want to read Russian literature.)

Let's look at a short dialogue from a RussianPod101 lesson that shows this in a natural context.

As you saw in the dialogue:

А почему ты не ешь? (Why aren't you eating?)
Потому что я вегетарианка... (Because I am a vegetarian...)

This question-answer pair is fundamental.

An Interesting Cultural Note

While почему is the standard, "correct" way to ask "why," in very informal, colloquial speech, you might hear friends use а чё? [a cho?]. It's slang and best avoided in formal situations, but it's good to recognize.

3. Deeper Meaning: Почему? vs. Зачем?

Russian has another word that translates to "why": зачем [za-CHEM]. While they seem similar, they are not interchangeable. This is a nuance that will make your Russian sound much more precise.

• Почему? asks for the reason or cause of something that has already happened or is happening. It's about causality.
• Зачем? asks for the purpose or goal of an action. It's equivalent to asking "What for?".

Watch this short video clip, which explains the difference perfectly.

Let's look at an example that might be relevant to your studies in chemical engineering:

• Someone asks you: Почему реакция идёт так медленно?
  • Why is the reaction proceeding so slowly? (They are asking for the reason or cause, e.g., "Because the temperature is too low.")
• Someone asks you: Зачем вы добавляете этот катализатор?
  • Why are you adding this catalyst? (They are asking for the purpose or goal, e.g., "To speed up the reaction.")

Here's another way to think about it:

• Почему смотрит в прошлое (looks at the past/cause).
• Зачем смотрит в будущее (looks at the future/goal).

4. Summary and Practice

You've now added two very important question words to your vocabulary and learned a key nuance between two different ways of asking "why."

Let's test your understanding. Choose the best question word (как, почему, or зачем) for each situation.

1. You want to know the reason someone is tired.
   • _____ ты устал? (Why are you tired?)
2. You want to know the method for solving a problem.
   • _____ решить эту задачу? (How do you solve this problem?)
3. You want to know the purpose of opening a window.
   • _____ ты открыл окно? (What did you open the window for?)
4. You want to ask about your friend's well-being.
   • _____ дела? (How are things?)
5. You see your friend studying chemistry on a Saturday and you want to know the reason.
   • _____ ты учишь химию? (Why are you studying chemistry?)

Conclusion

Отлично! You've successfully learned to ask about manner and reason in Russian.

Key Takeaways:

• Как? is used to ask "how" something is done or what state something is in.
• Почему? is used to ask "why," seeking a reason or cause. The typical answer starts with потому что (because).
• Зачем? is also used to ask "why," but it specifically seeks the purpose or goal of an action ("what for?").

Preview of the next lesson:

Now that you can ask more complex questions, you'll need a wider range of verbs to form your answers. In the next lesson, we will learn how to conjugate a new group of verbs: second-conjugation verbs, which often end in -ить, like говорить (to speak) and учить (to learn/study).