The primary way to say "because" in Spanish is "porque." It is a causal conjunction used to introduce the reason or cause of something, similar to English "because." For example, "No vine porque estaba ocupado" means "I didn't come because I was busy." There are also related forms in Spanish that can be confused with "porque":
- "porqué" (with an accent) is a noun meaning "the reason" or "cause."
- "por qué" (two words, with an accent on qué) means "why" and is used in questions.
- "por que" (two words, no accent) can be a prepositional phrase, meaning "for which" or "because of" in certain contexts.
Also, "porque" can be replaced in more formal contexts by expressions like "ya que" or "puesto que," which also mean "because." For "because of" followed by a noun, the phrase "por" is often used, e.g., "Llegué tarde por el tráfico" (I was late because of the traffic).
