📝 In Action
No entiendo el porqué de tu decisión.
B1I don't understand the reason for your decision.
Todo en esta vida tiene su porqué.
B1Everything in this life has its reason.
Me explicó los porqués de su ausencia.
B2He explained to me the reasons for his absence.
💡 Grammar Points
A Noun That Means 'The Reason'
Porqué is a noun that means 'the reason' or 'the why'. Because it's a thing (a noun), you'll almost always see it with a little word like el (the), un (a), or su (his/her) in front of it.
It Can Be Plural!
Since porqué is a noun, you can talk about more than one reason. To do this, just add an 's' and use 'los': los porqués (the reasons).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing `porqué` with `por qué`
Mistake: "No sé por qué de su enojo."
Correction: No sé el porqué de su enojo. When you mean 'the reason' as a single idea, you need the one-word, accented `porqué`. A big clue is that you can put `el` (the) right before it.
⭐ Usage Tips
The 'El' Trick
A great trick to know if you need porqué is to see if you can say 'the reason' in English. If you can, you probably need el porqué in Spanish.
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: porqué
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly uses 'porqué'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the absolute simplest way to remember `porqué` vs. `por qué` vs. `porque`?
Think of it this way: 1. `el porqué` = 'the reason' (It's a noun, a 'thing'). 2. `¿por qué?` = 'why?' (It's a question). 3. `porque` = 'because' (It's the answer).
Can I always just use 'la razón' instead of 'el porqué'?
Yes, most of the time! 'La razón' is much more common and a perfect substitute. Using 'el porqué' can sound a little more thoughtful or philosophical, like you're talking about the deeper motive behind something.