"mengapa" vs "kenapa"

[Berlarutlarut]

I always get confused which one of these I should use when saying "why"

[Nimbus]

Mengapa is formal, almost poetic. Kenapa is informal and used in everyday conversation.

[Alia]

Reminds me of a nice old song by Nicky Astria. Poetic indeed and most words we dont use in daily conversation.

[Alia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymMkmdC0niU&list=PL8C46D93CACAB4E9C&feature=player_detailpage

[Graham Webster]

My rule of thumb has always been to speak "kenapa", but for writing/reading "mengapa" tends to be used...

[Berlarutlarut]

sometimes I use kenapa but people don't understand - they say it means "what" not "why" in certain contexts. Hence my confusion. I tend to stick with mengapa, but it does sound a bit too formal.

eg person a mumbles something. Person b: "kenapa?".

So when you are saying "kenapa" how do you make it clear when you mean "what" and when you mean "why", in cases where the context could fit with either

[Rrrrratih]

sometimes I use kenapa but people don't understand - they say it means "what" not "why" in certain contexts. Hence my confusion. I tend to stick with mengapa, but it does sound a bit too formal.

eg person a mumbles something. Person b: "kenapa?".

So when you are saying "kenapa" how do you make it clear when you mean "what" and when you mean "why", in cases where the context could fit with either

When someone's mumbling, the common response is "Apa?" (what). I think it's because you wanna know what was he/she saying, not why was he/she saying.

You use "what" when you want to know the thing that is unclear for you, and you use "why" when you want to know the reason behind the thing that happened.

CMIIW

[Berlarutlarut]

When someone's mumbling, the common response is "Apa?" (what). I think it's because you wanna know what was he/she saying, not why was he/she saying.

You use "what" when you want to know the thing that is unclear for you, and you use "why" when you want to know the reason behind the thing that happened.

CMIIW

So you agree with me that Kenapa = what.

And the other posters say it means "why".

How can one word mean both "what" and "why"? Very confusing.

[john madden]

Never heard "kenapa" used to mean "what", only "why".

[Nimbus]

sometimes I use kenapa but people don't understand - they say it means "what" not "why" in certain contexts. Hence my confusion. I tend to stick with mengapa, but it does sound a bit too formal.

eg person a mumbles something. Person b: "kenapa?".

So when you are saying "kenapa" how do you make it clear when you mean "what" and when you mean "why", in cases where the context could fit with either

Kenapa in certain contexts is used as a shorthand for "why are you..." or "why is this..."

Let's say you see a little girl crying and you want to find out what happened. You can ask "kenapa kamu menangis?", or just "kenapa?" for short, the rest of the sentence is implied. You can also ask "ada apa?"

[hamrio]

So you agree with me that Kenapa = what.

And the other posters say it means "why".

How can one word mean both "what" and "why"? Very confusing.

Generally, both of them is used to asked for the reason for something happen. Instead of asking "what", I think "kenapa" more like asking "what's the matter?" or "what's the problem?".

I found one website, hope it can help

http://bahasakita.com/words-for-why-kenapa-and-mengapa/

[godmachine12]

So you agree with me that Kenapa = what.

And the other posters say it means "why".

How can one word mean both "what" and "why"? Very confusing.

It doesn't have two meanings. Both 'kenapa' (colloquial) and 'mengapa' (formal) mean 'why', not 'what' as someone before me has already pointed out.

[flyhighxx]

Hi there

I hope my explanation clears up your curiosity about the difference between " Kenapa" and " Mengapa"
First of all " mengapa " isn't used that often on daily conversation..normaly used for, u know like,Childrend's play such as :Fairytales,Story telling ( used alot )
So i hope that explains a bit about " Mengapa "
Moving on to " Kenapa " : "Kenapa" in English is either "why" or "what"
The difference between those two is " The intonation " ===> How you say it
When you use " Why" or " What " in English , you say it in a different Intonation right?
It's the same way with " kenapa "..
You have to use different Intonation for " Kenapa (Why) and Kenapa (What)
That is something that you have to learn from local people or from " Indonesian Teacher / Bahasa Teacher "

Note : Although "Mengapa" is rarely used on a daily basis, it has the same meaning and intonation with " kenapa (Why) "

Hope that helps

[Berlarutlarut]

Hi there

I hope my explanation clears up your curiosity about the difference between " Kenapa" and " Mengapa"
First of all " mengapa " isn't used that often on daily conversation..normaly used for, u know like,Childrend's play such as :Fairytales,Story telling ( used alot )
So i hope that explains a bit about " Mengapa "
Moving on to " Kenapa " : "Kenapa" in English is either "why" or "what"
The difference between those two is " The intonation " ===> How you say it
When you use " Why" or " What " in English , you say it in a different Intonation right?
It's the same way with " kenapa "..
You have to use different Intonation for " Kenapa (Why) and Kenapa (What)
That is something that you have to learn from local people or from " Indonesian Teacher / Bahasa Teacher "

Note : Although "Mengapa" is rarely used on a daily basis, it has the same meaning and intonation with " kenapa (Why) "

Hope that helps

Yes that's a very good explanation, thanks. Glad I finally got the correct answer on this, it's been confusing me for ages.

[travelNteach]

english doesnt have intonation except at the end of sentences where is rises when asking a question or drops slightly. It drops even more to signal the listener that you have finished speaking and it is their turn. flyhighxx is right that it is something that is something that is intutive and difficult to learn. However, there is work and sentence stress which people often get confused with intonation because vowels are said louder and longer. The difference is that the pitch/tone doesnt change.

i have always used kenapa to mean why and apa to mean what. i have never had any problems with communication. the only time i have heard kenapa understood at what is the following situation............. somebody standing on the side of the road asks, "mau kemana"? and i reply "kenapa" as in why are you asking. they then repeat their original question "mau kemana"? as if i had said What instead of Why.