何事 (hé) — (literary pronoun) what reason?; why?

Definition

何事 is a literary/formal pronoun meaning 'what reason?' or 'why?'. It is used in written Chinese, classical texts, or formal speech, where 为什么 would sound too casual. You'll encounter it in idioms, news headlines, or historical narratives. It is not used in everyday conversation.

pr.

(literary pronoun) what reason?why?

Examples

何事？
Nǐ hé rúcǐ huāngzhāng?
Why are you so flustered?
何事？
hé dà jīng xiǎo guài?
Why make such a fuss?
何事，。
Bù zhī hé, tā jìng bù cí ér bié.
For some unknown reason, he left without saying goodbye.

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