porque

See also: porqué, porquê, por que, por qué, and por quê

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoɾke/ [ˈpoɾ.ke]
• Rhymes: -oɾke
• Syllabification: por‧que

Conjunction

porque

1. because (by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that)

Further reading

• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “porque”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “porque”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Galician

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoɾke/ [ˈpoɾ.kɪ]
• Rhymes: -oɾke
• Hyphenation: por‧que

Conjunction

porque

1. because

   Porque quero vivir en Galicia.

   Because I want to live in Galicia.

2. (reintegrationist, introducing a question) why

   Synonym: (standard) por que

   E porque nom podemos ir?

   And why can't we go?

Further reading

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “porque”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• edu.xunta.gal

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• pq (text messaging)
• perque (obsolete)
• porq̃ (obsolete, abbreviation)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese porque, from Vulgar Latin [Term?]. By surface analysis, univerbation of por (“for”) +‎ que (“that”). Doublet of por que.

Cognate with Galician and Spanish porque, Catalan perquè, French parce que and Italian perché.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /puʁˈke/ [puhˈke]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /puʁˈke/ [puhˈke]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /puɾˈke/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /puʁˈke/ [puχˈke]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /puɻˈke/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpuɾ.kɨ/

• Audio (Brazil (São Paulo)):

  (file)

• Audio (Minho, Northern Portugal):

  (file)

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

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• Hyphenation: por‧que
• (Brazil) Homophones: por que, porquê, por quê

Conjunction

porque

1. because (introduces a reason for that described in the previous clause)

   Synonyms: pois, por causa que

   Escondi-me porque tive medo. ― I hid because I was afraid.

   • 1890, Aluizio Azevedo, O Cortiço, Rio de Janeiro: B. L. Garnier:

     Naquela manhã levantara-se ainda um pouco mais lânguido que do costume, porque passara mal a noite.

     That morning he had gotten up slightly slower than usual, because he had felt ill during the night.

   • 2008, Priscila Ferraz, nuvem de pó, Marco Zero, →ISBN, page 58:

     Nem é preciso dizer que o jantar foi um verdadeiro desastre. O arroz ficou empedrado, tipo “unidos venceremos”, a carne virou uma “sola de sapato”, salvou-se mais ou menos a salada, mesmo assim porque Cláudia não quis comentar nada a respeito de uma lesma que viu na alface mal lavada.

     Needless to say, dinner was a true disaster. The rice turned into a brick, like “one for all, all for one”, the meat turned into a rubber, the salad could more or less be salvaged, even so because Cláudia withheld any comment regarding the slug she saw on the poorly washed lettuce.

2. because (introduces an explanation to a claim in the previous clause)

   Synonyms: pois, que

   Aproveita a vida, porque ela é curta! ― Enjoy life, because it’s short!

   • 2006, Richard Diegues, André Vianco, Alexandre Heredia, Visões de São Paulo - Ensaios Urbanos, Tarja Editorial, →ISBN, page 13:

     Formigas. Formiguinhas pequenininhas, marchando em linha. E elas falam. Elas dizem coisas impossíveis de entender porque eu não falo formiguês.

     Ants. Little tiny ants, marching in line. And they talk. They say things that are impossible to understand because I don’t speak antese.

Usage notes

• Although this conjunction is officially considered unstressed (whence the lack of an accentuation mark), it is often pronounced with stress.

Derived terms

• porque sim

Adverb

porque (not comparable)

1. European Portuguese standard spelling of por que

   Porque é que o céu é azul?

   Why is the sky blue?

2. (Brazilian Portuguese spelling) pre-reform spelling (used until 1943) of por que; now a common misspelling
   • 1938, Graciliano Ramos, “Cadeia [Jail]”, in Vidas Seccas [Barren Lives]‎^[1], Rio de Janeiro: Livraria José Olympio Editora, page 38:

     Porque seria que seu Ignacio botava agua em tudo? perguntou mentalmente.

     Why was it that Mr Ignacio would put water in everything? he asked in his mind.

Related terms

• por quê
• por que
• porquê

Further reading

• “porque”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “porque”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Alternative forms

• xq (Internet slang, text messaging)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *per-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *pér

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *próder.

Proto-Italic *prō

Latin prō

Late Latin pōr

Old Spanish por

Spanish por

Spanish que

Spanish porque

From por (“for; due to”) + que (“what”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoɾke/ [ˈpoɾ.ke]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oɾke
• Syllabification: por‧que

Conjunction

porque

1. because

   Synonyms: car (archaic), ca (archaic)

   Los pasteles modernos son sabrosos porque están caramelizados.

   Modern cakes are delicious because they're caramelized.

   • 2021 July 21, Juan Garzon, “Los mejores celulares Android de 2021”, in CNN en Español‎^[2]:

     Comprar un celular no es fácil, al menos considerando que lo ideal es comprar el mejor para cada uno de nosotros porque no todos tenemos las mismas necesidades, ni le damos el mismo uso, ni podemos pagar el mismo precio, ni tenemos las mismas preferencias. Sin embargo, aquí recopilo los mejores celulares Android de 2021, teniendo en cuenta estos aspectos para ayudarte a determinar cuál podría ser mejor opción para ti.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• por qué is used when asking questions ("why") and porque is used when giving answers ("because"). porqué is a noun derived from por qué which means "reason". Because por que can be a combination of the preposition por and the relative pronoun que, it can also be translated as "why", for example in "Esa es la razón por (la) que hice eso." ("That's the reason (why) I did that.") (literally: "That's the reason for which I did that" or "That's the reason due to which I did that").
• The subordinate clause that porque introduces is most often in the indicative.
• When porque is negated — when one thing is said not to be because of another — its subordinate clause can be in either the indicative or the subjunctive. Both "No lo hago porque te odie, lo hago por tu propio bien" and "No lo hago porque te odio, lo hago por tu propio bien" can be used, with a possible difference in meaning (the second sentence can mean that the person talking still hates the other person (even though it's unlikely based on context), while the first sentence can't), though the first sentence (with the subjunctive) is more common when the speaker doesnt hate the person being addressed.

Derived terms

• porque hoy es hoy
• porque sí

Related terms

• por qué

• porqué

Further reading

• “porque”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025