zakaj

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Univerbation of za (“for”) +‎ kaj (“what”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈzɑːkaj/

• Hyphenation: za‧kaj

Adverb

zạ̃kaj (Cyrillic spelling зạ̃кај)

1. (Kajkavian) why, what for

   Zakaj bi negdo to napravil? ― Why would someone do that?

Synonyms

• zašto (Shtokavian)
• zač (Chakavian)

Slovene

Etymology

From za +‎ káj.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zakàːj/, /zakáːj/

Adverb

zakāj

1. why, for what reason

Further reading

• “zakaj”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025