adverb
why, how come
B1
wieso: an interrogative adverb meaning 'why' or 'how come'. Similar to warum or wie so, used to ask reasons, often at the start of a question. It does not take cases or prepositions and is not inflected. Tone can be neutral or slightly colloquial depending on context.
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Der Reporter fragte, wieso der Direktor die Sitzung früh beendete, obwohl keine dringenden Gründe genannt worden waren.
The reporter asked why the director ended the meeting early, although no urgent reasons had been given.
Wieso ist das Licht schon ausgeschaltet?
How come the light is already off?
Wieso bist du zu spät gekommen?
Why did you arrive late?
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VOCABULARY.DETAILS.MNEMONICS
Picture a detective saying 'Why so?' in a cartoon — 'wieso' is the German equivalent.
Sounds like English 'we so' — imagine asking 'we so?' as a clipped 'why?'
VOCABULARY.DETAILS.NOTES
Common question word, interchangeable with 'warum' in many contexts; 'wieso' can sound slightly more colloquial than 'weshalb' or 'weswegen'.