English–Chinese

“why bother” in Chinese

Chinese

Also何苦 (hé kǔ)

Pronunciation

Pinyinhé bì

Example

何必难过，事情会好起来的。hé bì nán guò shì qíng huì hǎo qǐ lái de

There is no need to be sad; things will get better.

Illustration for 何必 (why bother)

How to say “why bother” in Chinese

“Why bother” in Chinese is 何必 (hé bì).

A rhetorical question that pushes an unnecessary action aside.

Full entry for 何必: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with 何必

既然大家都有不同的意见，何必争执呢？jì rán dà jiā dōu yǒu bù tóng de yì jiàn hé bì zhēng zhí ne

Since everyone has different opinions, why quarrel?

Tips for using 何必

  • English speakers may hear the question form as a real request for a reason, but 何必 (hébì, "why bother") commonly signals a speaker's judgment about the situation.

Other Chinese words for “why bother”

2

何苦

hé kǔ

adverbwhy bother

我们何苦为这个问题争论？wǒ men hé kǔ wèi zhè ge wèn tí zhēng lùn

Why should we bother arguing over this issue?

“why bother” in other languages