Get the appGet the app
Russian frequency list

No. 1,773 in Russian

зачем

"Зачем" means "why" or "for what purpose" in English.

In a sentence

  • Зачем ты пришёл так рано?

    Why did you come so early?

    In this sentence, 'зачем' is used as an interrogative adverb to inquire about the purpose or reason for the early arrival.

  • Ты сам должен понимать, зачем тебе это нужно.

    You must understand yourself why you need this.

    Here, 'зачем' poses a reflective inquiry into the rationale behind requiring something.

  • Я не знаю, зачем она это сказала.

    I don't know why she said that.

    In this case, 'зачем' is utilized within a subordinate clause to convey uncertainty towards the purpose of an action.

Hear it in real podcasts

The recording above is a synthetic voice. Hear how people say “зачем” in actual Russian podcasts.

Find “зачем” in podcasts

Learn it from shows you like

LangTurbo plays Russian podcasts with a transcript and the English under every line. Tap a word like this one and it tells you what it means right there. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

Learning English?

LangTurbo plays real English podcasts with every line translated into русский, and tells you what any word means in that sentence. For iPhone, iPad and Android.

Russian books and courses on Amazon (an affiliate link: a purchase through it supports this site).