(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

[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.