(no subject)

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

Hey, can anyone tell me what the difference between "Zachem" and "Pachimu" are? I know that they both mean Why, but I was wondering if they were interchangeable or if one is used best in a certain situation.

Comments

[noser.livejournal.com]

No, "зачем" means "what for". "why" asks for the cause, "what for" asks for the purpose.

Re:

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

Oh! that actually makes a lot of sense lol. But I'n this one song that I'm positive some of the people of this community are familiar with, Zachem Ya by tatu, I thought that she was saying Why am I. I guess it means the purpose like you said? Thanks

Re:

[noser.livejournal.com]

W-well, in poems, "зачем" could be used in place of "почему", if the rhyme needs it. AFAIR that song, she sings "Зачем я плачу в первый раз" -- she probably means "why". But then, she goes "Зачем хочу тебя сейчас, не знаю", this is probably a "what for" :)

Re:

[superslayer18.livejournal.com]

oh ok, i understand I think lol. And see, people do know the song! And what does Зачем я плачу в первый раз mean? I have searched so many lyrics sites, and all have it written as if that line was never sung. Thanks again!

Re:

[noser.livejournal.com]

It means "why do I cry the first time".

Geez, looks like there are two versions of this song, I only heard the "PG-13" rated one :) This site has both: http://tatyshki.by.ru/texts0.html.

Re:

[bobthedog.livejournal.com]

"Why" and "what for" aren't semantically different. The same goes for the Russian equivalents. It's just usage, and even then they're not used in totally seperate ways.

[yers.livejournal.com]

The same goes for the Russian equivalents.
Doesn't.

Кстати...

[alcash.livejournal.com]

Pochemu

[rimokon.livejournal.com]

I was also wondering if there was a difference. I don't think there is. It's probably like in Spanish.

Почему? = Porque? (Why?)
Зачем? = Para que? (What for?)

Both are used, and the meaning is generally the same. :)

Re:

[irkin.livejournal.com]

Well, actually, as someone above said there is the difference - why (pochemu/почему) is used for reason and what for (zachem/зачем) - for purpose. If you ask "why did you do that?" you are interested in motives/reason that made the person to do something. If you ask "what did you do that for?" you mean to ask what purpose did they want to fulfil by doing something.

[pogoda.livejournal.com]

There IS a difference, but seems like none of Russians can explain it )
Let me try.

На пальцах:
1. "Почему ты это сделал?" = "Зачем ты это сделал?" (here "почему" asks about personal motivation and the reason, and "зачем" - about the person's goal, the logical argumentation). cause vs. objective.
2. "Почему ты плачешь?" but you can't ask: Зачем ты плачешь? there's no goal, just the reason.