навошта

Belarusian

Etymology

Univerbation of на (na) +‎ вошта (vóšta), variant of што (što). Corresponds to Ukrainian наві́що (navíščo).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [naˈvoʂta]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

наво́шта • (navóšta)

1. why, what for, to what end

   Near-synonym: чаму́ (čamú)

   Наво́шта ты ўчо́ра ўзяў з сабо́й парасо́н? ― Navóšta ty ŭčóra ŭzjaŭ z sabój parasón? ― Why did you bring an umbrella yesterday?

Usage notes

• наво́шта (navóšta) and чаму́ (čamú) can both be translated as "Why?", but they differ in that чаму́ means "For what reason?/On what grounds?" whereas наво́шта means "For what purpose?/To what end?". Sometimes the words are interchangeable, but sometimes one is more appropriate than the other.

Related terms

• заво́шта (zavóšta)
• нізаво́шта (nizavóšta)

References

• “навошта” in Belarusian–Russian dictionaries and Belarusian dictionaries at slounik.org