warum
German, adverb/vaˈʁʊm/
warum is spelled W-A-R-U-M (5 letters) and appears 562 times per million words in written German, the 167th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Warum is a German adverb meaning “why; for what reason” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “leitet einen Nebensatz (des Grundes) ein, der die Folge aus der Aussage des Hauptsatzes angibt”.
What does warum mean in English?
adverb
- 1
why; for what reason
Warum ist die Banane krumm?
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. leitet einen Nebensatz (des Grundes) ein, der die Folge aus der Aussage des Hauptsatzes angibt 2. leitet eine direkte und indirekte Frage nach dem Grund ein
noun: 1. Frage nach der Ursache von etwas, Forderung einen Grund zu nennen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of warum
- wrm alternative Internet
- Warums nominative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce warum?
- /vaˈʁʊm/
- /ˈvaː.ʁʊm/
- [vaˈʁʊm]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to warum
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is warum in German?
warum appears 562 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).