adverbpronounpronoun

wonach

what for · what · for · about · look

Damit fragt man nach der Sache oder dem Ziel, auf die sich etwas bezieht.

The German word "wonach" is a relative or interrogative pronoun, utilized chiefly in questions and indirect questions. It effectively means "after which" or can be treated as "what...for" in English. "Wonach" is used to inquire about the object or reason of an action related to "nach", a preposition meaning "after". For instance, "Wonach suchst du?" translates to "What are you searching for?"

There are no exact synonyms for "wonach" as it serves a very specific grammatical function. Variants include:

"Wofür" (what for) - generally used when asking about the purpose or reason behind an action, similar to one use of "wonach".
"Woher" (from where/whence) - related but focuses on origin rather than purpose or subsequent action.

In application, "wonach" is quite distinct because it directly ties to actions governed by or points towards aspects following "nach" within the question framework, making it uniquely targeted for its application in sentences.