{"id":135889,"date":"2023-05-09T23:05:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T03:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/porque-por-que\/"},"modified":"2025-02-27T03:23:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T08:23:00","slug":"porque-por-que","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/porque-por-que\/","title":{"rendered":"Differences Between Por Qu\u00e9, Porque, Porqu\u00e9 and Por Que"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Spanish, even the slightest thing, like a space or an accent mark<\/a>, can change the meaning of a sentence completely.<\/p>\n

This especially applies to the Spanish\u00a0por qu\u00e9<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Don’t believe me? Keep on reading and learn about the four Spanish por qu\u00e9<\/em>s\u00a0to find out how!<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"spanish-porque-por-que-infographic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Difference Between Por Qu\u00e9<\/em>, Porque,<\/em>\u00a0Porqu\u00e9 <\/em>and Por Que<\/em><\/h2>\n

Having so many variations of what seems to be the same word can be confusing.<\/p>\n

But in reality, the way you spell por que <\/em>(and whether you place an accent or not) changes its meaning.<\/p>\n

For starters, take a look at this lesson from our YouTube channel<\/a> to see the differences between por qu\u00e9<\/em> and porque<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

Now let’s check out all four por ques<\/em>, their English translations and an example sentence for each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Spanish<\/strong><\/th>English<\/strong><\/th>Example<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Por qu\u00e9<\/i><\/td>Why<\/td>\u00bfPor qu\u00e9<\/b> te gusta bailar?<\/i>
\n(Why<\/b> do you like to dance?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Porque<\/i><\/td>Because<\/td>Me gusta bailar porque<\/b> yo bailo bien.<\/i>
\n(I like to dance because<\/b> I dance well.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Porqu\u00e9<\/i><\/td>Reason<\/td>No necesito un porqu\u00e9<\/b> para bailar.<\/i>
\n(I don't need a reason<\/b> to dance.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Por que<\/i><\/td>Why, for which<\/td>Bailo bien. Esa es la raz\u00f3n por que<\/b> me gusta.<\/i>
\n(I dance well. That is the reason why\/for which<\/b> I like it.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

The rest of this post will go into greater detail of each one, but for now, get familiar with their meanings.<\/p>\n

It’s also worth noting that there’s a situation where all four por ques<\/em> tend to be grouped together: in texting!<\/p>\n

When texting in Spanish, the por que <\/i>is often shortened to\u00a0pk, pq, xk,\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0xq<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u00bfPor Qu\u00e9?<\/em> \u00a0\u2014\u00a0Why?<\/h2>\n

Por qu\u00e9<\/em> is\u00a0one of the most often used of the four porques<\/em>. It means “why,” and it’s very easy to use because it works exactly the same as in English.<\/p>\n

When you want to ask why, write por qu\u00e9.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Notice that it’s made of two separated words with an accent mark over the e<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Take a look at the following examples:<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9<\/strong> has venido?<\/em> (Why have you come?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9<\/strong> no comes pizza?<\/em> (Why don\u2019t you eat pizza?)<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9<\/strong> te vas?<\/em> (Why are you leaving?)<\/p>\n

As a question word, it can also be used in indirect questions:<\/p>\n

No s\u00e9 por qu\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0has venido.<\/em> (I don\u2019t know why you have come.)<\/p>\n

Me pregunto por qu\u00e9<\/strong> no comes pizza.<\/em> (I wonder why you don\u2019t eat pizza.)<\/p>\n

Quiero saber por qu\u00e9<\/strong> te vas.<\/em> (I want to know why you are leaving.)<\/p>\n

2. Porque<\/em> \u2014 Because<\/h2>\n

In English, when you ask a question using “why,” you’ll probably obtain a spoken answer beginning with “because.” This is also true of Spanish, but our word for “because” is actually another member of the \u201cporque<\/em> family.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Spanish\u00a0“because” is porque<\/em><\/strong>, and it is written as one word without an accent mark. Use this word only when you are giving your reasons:<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 has venido? Porque<\/strong> tengo tiempo libre.
\n<\/em>(Why have you come? Because I have some free time.)<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no comes pizza? Porque<\/strong> no tengo hambre.
\n<\/em>(Why don\u2019t you eat pizza?) Because I am not hungry.<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 te vas? Porque<\/strong> ya es muy tarde.
\n<\/em>(Why are you leaving? Because it is too late already.)<\/p>\n

As in English, you will find porque<\/em> when reporting events as well:<\/p>\n

Me dijo que no vendr\u00eda porque<\/strong> no ten\u00eda tiempo.
\n<\/em>(He told me he would not come because he didn\u2019t have time.)<\/p>\n

Mi hermana me cont\u00f3 que volvi\u00f3 porque<\/strong> se hab\u00eda olvidado la tarjeta de cr\u00e9dito.
\n<\/em>(My sister told me she came back because she had forgotten her credit card.)<\/p>\n

Ella dice que no come porque<\/strong> no tiene hambre.
\n<\/em>(She says she is not eating because she is not hungry.)<\/p>\n

3. El Porqu\u00e9<\/em> \u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Reason<\/h2>\n

This is the noun form of p<\/em>or que. <\/i>El <\/em>porqu\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is normally translated as \u201cthe reason,\u201d or less commonly as “why” (used as a noun).<\/p>\n

It’s worth noting though that the use of porqu\u00e9<\/em> is actually quite rare\u2014archaic, even\u2014so don’t expect to run into it anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Porqu\u00e9<\/em> can be used with an article, be\u00a0plural<\/a> (as in English “whys” and “wherefores”), be modified by adjectives, etc. See this fascinating noun in action:<\/p>\n

No entiendo el porqu\u00e9<\/strong> de tu decisi\u00f3n.
\n<\/em>(I don\u2019t understand the reason behind your decision.)<\/p>\n

Me pregunt\u00f3 los porqu\u00e9s<\/strong> de mi decisi\u00f3n.<\/em>
\n(He asked about the whys (the reasons\/the causes) for my decision.)<\/p>\n

Un gran porqu\u00e9<\/strong> se nos presenta.<\/em>
\n(A strong reason presents itself.)<\/p>\n

4. Por Que<\/em> \u2014 For Which<\/h2>\n

Por que<\/em><\/strong> (two words without an accent mark) is definitely the most difficult and the least commonly used of the four porques<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It can be translated as \u201cfor which,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0but there are going to be times when you will have to translate it as \u201cwhy\u201d<\/strong> or even \u201cso that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is present only in two very specific situations, so if you bear in mind the following two rules, you will have no problem with it:<\/p>\n

1. Write por que<\/em> when you have a preposition (por)<\/em> and a relative pronoun (que<\/em>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

In these cases, you will be able to translate it as \u201cfor which.”<\/p>\n

Esa es la raz\u00f3n por que<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0vine.
\n<\/em>(That is the reason for which I came.)<\/p>\n

Este es el motivo por que<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0no llam\u00e9.
\n<\/em>(This is the reason for which I didn\u2019t call.)<\/p>\n

2. Write por que<\/em> when a phrasal verb using por<\/em> is followed by que<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Examples of Spanish phrasal verbs<\/a> that use\u00a0por<\/em> can be optar por<\/em> (to opt for, decide), preocuparse por<\/em> (to worry about, to take care of), luchar por<\/em> (to fight for), decidirse por<\/em> (to opt for, decide), etc.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

Opt\u00e9 por que<\/strong> no vinieras.<\/em> (I decided that you wouldn\u2019t come.)<\/p>\n

Me preocupo por que<\/strong> no te pase nada.<\/em> (I take care so that nothing happens to you.)<\/p>\n

Lucho por que<\/strong> haya paz en el mundo.<\/em> (I fight so that there is peace in the world.)<\/p>\n

Hice lo que pude por que<\/strong> no lleg\u00e1ramos tarde.<\/em> (I did what I could so that we wouldn\u2019t be late).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you can see, por qu\u00e9<\/em>\u00a0is quite puzzling and it tends to be wrongly used even by native Spanish speakers!<\/p>\n

So don’t worry if you can’t master it at once. Start with the easy ones\u2014por qu\u00e9<\/em> and porque\u2014<\/em>then slowly start practicing the others.<\/p>\n

Watching authentic Spanish videos can help to see this kind of grammar used in context. You can find videos on YouTube that are likely to contain these variations.<\/em><\/p>\n

FluentU<\/a> also has a collection of videos, and they come with interactive captions that explain vocabulary in context.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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