How come? vs Why?

Both 'how come?' and 'why?' are commonly used to ask for the reason or cause of something. 'How come?' is more informal and conversational, while 'why?' is more formal and can be used in both spoken and written English. They can be used interchangeably in many situations, but 'how come?' is often used in casual conversations.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 859 views

How come?

This phrase is correct and commonly used in informal conversations to ask for the reason or cause of something.

Use 'how come?' in informal situations to ask why something happened or is the way it is. It is often used in spoken English among friends, family, or in casual settings.

Examples:

How come you didn't come to the party?
How come the store is closed today?
How come you're so late?
How come he got the promotion?
How come she's upset?

Show examples from the web [+]

How come? It's gone to ruin.
When I reply to a message, only a part of the message is quoted. How come?
No, not particularly, how come?
And I said, "well, how come?"
How come? Anti-Freedomism is at a new high.
How come? I threw my grandmother down a flight of stairs.
How come? Well, when I was 11, I broke the patio window, and my mother sued me.
How come? Ran into some cubs.
How come? I killed him.
How come? - Tell him.
Look, you feel nothing How come?
"How come?" with the story you made up.
How come? I don't even know the kid!
So the question you want to ask is: How come? Why? What is it about them?
- I can't tell him that - How come?
How come? 'Cause I come here right after school.
So tell me, Lieutenant, how come?
And I said, "how come?"
I know, but all females... how come? ...Female.
You were parked there, how come? I was there.

Alternatives:

Why is that?
What's the reason for that?
What's the explanation?
Can you explain why?
What caused that?

Why?

This phrase is correct and can be used in both formal and informal contexts to ask for the reason or cause of something.

Use 'why?' in both formal and informal situations to inquire about the reason behind an action or situation. It is a versatile question word that can be used in various contexts.

Examples:

Why did you do that?
Why is the sky blue?
Why are you crying?
Why are you leaving?
Why is the project delayed?

Alternatives:

How come?
What's the reason for that?
What's the explanation?
Can you explain why?
What caused that?

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

How come? vs Why?

How come?

Why?

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying