Question
Updated on
28 Sep 2022
- Ukrainian
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English (US)
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German
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English (UK)
Question about English (US)
Does "what's the matter" and "what's wrong" mean the same thing?
Does "what's the matter" and "what's wrong" mean the same thing?
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- English (US)
- English (US)
In common use, "functionally," they do.
Technically, precisely, "What's the matter?" means something like ""What are we thinking about, arguing about, trying to manage?"
But "What's wrong?" assumes it's a bad thing that needs to be fixed.
In philosophy, for example, I come into a discussion. I might ask, "What's the matter under question here?" though that is a little old fashioned.
I'm walking, and I see a child crying beside his bicycle. I might ask, "What's wrong?"
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