How do I know if 「何でいきますか」 means "Why did you go?" or "In what means did you go?"


> Ａ： あした 東京【とうきょう】へ 行き【いき】ます。  
>  Ｂ： 何【なん】で 行き【いき】ますか。  
>  Ａ： 新幹線【しんかんせん】で 行き【いき】ます。  
>  Ｂ： 一人【ひとり】で 行き【いき】ますか。  
>  Ａ： いいえ、会社【かいしゃ】の 人【ひと】と 行き【いき】ます。

([original page](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MTm3X.png))

The example given here (from _Minna no Nihongo 1_ ) uses 「何でいきますか」 as "In what
means did you go?" but from my understanding, if you wanted to say "Why did
you go?" it would be exactly the same phrase.

If you just look at the first 2 phrases in this example, it isn't necessarily
clear which person B is asking for. Person B could easily be asking person A
**why** he is going to Tokyo rather than **how** (in this case)




The short answer is that both meanings are applicable and the only way to know
is from context.

The problem here is that in spoken language, なに tends to be shortened into なん,
such that the two meanings "by what means" and "for what reason" overlap. If
one wants to be clear, one should say なにで when referring to "by what means",
and in writing it is good to not use the kanji in this case. In written text,
they should be distinguished (なに for "by what means") but since the text in
your image refers to spoken language, it is shortened there.

I remember having the same question when I first started learning Japanese
many years ago, also with that book. However, I cannot really recall having
heard it used in the sense of "by what means" in real life, people will
instead say なに. Perhaps there is a regional difference, I've mostly lived in
Fukuoka.

Here is some data from a survey I found:
<http://nhg.pro.tok2.com/reserch/reserch1-3.htm>

The survey asks "Do you use なに or なん when asking about commuting method?". In
total, 71.4 % prefers なに. In 近畿｛きんき｝ more people prefer なに than in 関東{かんとう｝ ,
although only 105 people were interviewed so no strong conclusions can be
drawn from this survey.




The short answer is that both meanings are applicable and the only way to know
is from context.

The problem here is that in spoken language, なに tends to be shortened into なん,
such that the two meanings "by what means" and "for what reason" overlap. If
one wants to be clear, one should say なにで when referring to "by what means",
and in writing it is good to not use the kanji in this case. In written text,
they should be distinguished (なに for "by what means") but since the text in
your image refers to spoken language, it is shortened there.

I remember having the same question when I first started learning Japanese
many years ago, also with that book. However, I cannot really recall having
heard it used in the sense of "by what means" in real life, people will
instead say なに. Perhaps there is a regional difference, I've mostly lived in
Fukuoka.

Here is some data from a survey I found:
<http://nhg.pro.tok2.com/reserch/reserch1-3.htm>

The survey asks "Do you use なに or なん when asking about commuting method?". In
total, 71.4 % prefers なに. In 近畿｛きんき｝ more people prefer なに than in 関東{かんとう｝ ,
although only 105 people were interviewed so no strong conclusions can be
drawn from this survey.

