Asking for reasons (af hverju)

When you want to ask about someone's motivations or reasons for making a change, use the phrase af hverju. It translates directly to "why" (literally, "of what") and sits at the very beginning of your question.

Why do you need to improve this lifestyle?
Af hverju þarft þú að bæta þennan lífsstíl?

To answer an af hverju question, you will usually reply with af því að, which means "because".

Because my health is bad.
Af því að heilsan mín er slæm.

Stress and Relaxation

Just like in English, af því að can start a standalone response or connect two ideas in the middle of a sentence. Let's see how we ask and answer questions about managing stress (streita) and relaxing (slaka á).

Why do you want to reduce stress?
Af hverju vilt þú minnka streitu?

Goals and Habits

When discussing your lifestyle, you will often talk about building good habits (venja) or setting a specific goal (markmið).

Why is the goal to always exercise?
Af hverju er markmiðið að hreyfa sig alltaf?
This good habit gives me a lot of energy.
Þessi góða venja gefur mér mikla orku.