Зачем или почему

[david-us.livejournal.com]

I see these words frequently and they seem to mean the same thing. I'm trying to understand how Russians use them. I think I might understand it now. I'm wondering if I got it correct.

A friend tells you that he has robbed a bank. You are shocked and can't understand why he did that.

You are more likely to ask, "Почему?"

A friend tells you that he is thinking about robbing a bank. You are shocked and can't understand why he would do such a thing.

You are more likely to ask, "Зачем?"

Is this correct? In the second example, would "Почему?" be acceptable?

If I got it all wrong, please correct me.

Thanks!

David Emerling
Memphis, TN

Comments

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

IMO, почему refers to something from the past or reason/cause, while зачем refers to something in the future or a goal (e.g. being rich is the purpose). It's OK to ask either question in either situation, but the answer is likely to (although doesn't have to as it's up to whoever answers the question) depend on the question (reason/cause vs purpose).

[oryx_and_crake]

I disagree. You can ask about both reason and purpose both in the past and in the future, so the зачем/почему question has nothing to do with tenses:

Зачем он хотел ограбить банк?
Почему он хотел ограбить банк?

Зачем он захочет ограбить банк?
Почему он захочет ограбить банк?

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

It doesn't have to do with tenses directly, at least not in that way. The cause doesn't come from the future. It comes from the present or past, from one's needs. Likewise the purpose or the goal until accomplished pertains to the future because that's when it the need gets fulfilled.

[oryx_and_crake]

I'd rather omit the mention of "past" and "future" altogether as it is misleading. You'd better use the cause-effect model: e.g. in case of "зачем" the action is the cause and the desired result is the effect, whereas in case of "почему" the conditions are the cause and the action is the effect.