why not

See also: why-not

English

why not (not comparable)

Why is that not true?
I don't want to go out today. — Why not?
(rhetorical) Used to state that one has no objection to and approves of a proposal.
Let's have pizza for lunch. — Yes, why not?
(rhetorical) Used to introduce a proposal.
Why not try turning the handle in the other direction to see if that opens the window?

Definitions 2 and 3 are more in the nature of assertions than questions, so they are often spoken as assertions and sometimes written without question marks.

why is that not true

Chinese:
Mandarin: 何不 (zh) (hébù), 為什麼不呢／为什么不呢 (wèishéme bù ne), 為什麼／为什么 (zh) (wèishénme) (lit. "why" - more common response)
Danish: hvorfor ikke
Dutch: please add this translation if you can
Esperanto: kial ne
Faroese: hví ikki
Finnish: miksi ei, miksei
French: pourquoi pas (fr)
German: warum nicht
Icelandic: af hverju ekki (is), hví ekki (formal)
Italian: perché no
Japanese: 当たり前でしょ (atarimaedesho)
Latin: cūr nōn, quidnī
Persian: چرا (fa) (čerâ)
Portuguese: por que não
Russian: а почему́ (a počemú), а что́ так (a štó tak)
Slovene: zakaj ne
Spanish: por qué no
Swedish: varför inte
Thai: ทำไมไม่

state one has no objection

introduce a proposal

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