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I've been watching 7th episode of Aldnoah Zero S2, and stumbled across a part
I couldn't completely understand - なぜでもだ. If I'm understanding correctly スレイン
is saying something like "Don't give me your 'why?'" or "It's none of your
business" etc. However what exactly does this phrase means? Of course it's
connected with previous phrase 「でも なぜ…」, however what has changed, when he
rephrased it backwards?

> スレイン「治療液を抜いて アセイラム姫を僕の城に運びます」
>
> スレイン「このことは内密に」
>
> スレイン「もちろん レムリナ姫にも」
>
> エデルリッゾ「でも なぜ…」
>
> スレイン「 **なぜでもだ** 」
>
> スレイン「すみません 怯えさせるつもりは…」

This moment starts on 6:54.
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2015-02-28T17:50:35.030
22990
2015-02-28T22:59:22.603
2015-02-28T20:25:16.847
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question
translation
Meaning of 「なぜでもだ」
We have two completely different 「でも」 here.

> 「 **でも** なぜ....」 = " ** _But_** why....?"

This is the **conjunction** 「でも」 that you see/hear everywhere everyday.

> 「なぜ **でも** だ」 = " ** _Regardless_** of why", " ** _irrespective_** of the
> reason", etc.

This 「でも」 is a **particle**. In a way, 「なぜでも」 is kind of like saying " **
_whyever_** " when the reason is of little importance though it may not
officially be a word in English.

> 「なぜ **でも** だ！」＝「どんな[理由]{りゆう} **でも** だ！」＝「どんな理由 **で** あって **も** だ！」

In essence, all of these expressions imply **_"Don't ask why!"_**
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2015-02-28T22:45:59.437
22993
2015-02-28T22:59:22.603
2015-02-28T22:59:22.603
22990
answer
Here is how I understood this conversation.

The first でも, in 「でも なぜ…」, is the [接続詞 meaning
"but"](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/152507/m0u/%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82/).
Here, Edelrittuo is asking Slaine "But why?".

The second でも, in 「なぜでもだ」, is the [係助詞 that you use with
interrogatives](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/152508/m0u/%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82/)
in constructions like 何でも食べるよ or だれでも知っていること, to mean "anything" / "anyone" /
etc. Since なぜ means "why", なぜでも I guess would literally mean "for any reason".
In the context of this exchange, where it is being used as an angry reply to a
question, I would think of it as meaning "it doesn't matter what the reason
is".

For an idiomatic way of putting this in English, consider:

> Edelrittuo: "But why?"  
>  Slaine: "Because!"

I don't think it's useful to view Slaine's retort as being Edelrittuo's
question "rephrased backwards" - it just happens to look that way, since でも
happens to have a lot of meanings.
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2015-02-28T22:46:13.917
22994
2015-02-28T22:46:13.917
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answer