If someone says you're being silly and you don't know why, should you ask 何ですか？ or なぜですか？


I'm confused because in sites like
[this](http://mylanguages.org/japanese_questions.php) one.

They define 何ですか as what and なぜですか as why. But in other sides I saw 何ですか
defined as why too.

So, what would be the best way to handle the question in the title (I'm open
to other options.)

Example conversation:

> Speaker A: Dude, you're being cringey now.
>
> Speaker B: Why (do you say that)?




The most natural response to that would be probably be some form of why: なぜ,
なんで, or どうして. But 何ですか would make sense if you interpreted it as "What is it
(in my conduct that you think is cringey)?" In both cases you're asking for
some sort of explanation but with a different nuance. The likely reason for
何ですか being considered a "why" is because in some contexts you can use it to
get an explanation but not always.

Basically, if you want _reasons_ you should ask with a "why" question, and if
you want _things_ you should ask a "what" question.




何ですか doesn't mean "why", but 何でですか? or simply 何で? mean "why".

