What's the difference between "почему нет?" and "почему бы и нет?"
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I believe it is just a shorter version of "почему бы и нет". Probably influenced by English "why not".– Sergey KirienkoAug 19, 2021 at 6:53
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"Почему нет" is more colloquial and shorten. But so this is just synonyms. Kirienko, just the reduction does'nt mean anyone influence, the more the English, you can see a long-known here - "Pourquoi Pas?" (FR.)– ПилумAug 19, 2021 at 10:22
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2 Answers
While "почему нет" indeed can serve a shorter form completely equivalent to "почему бы и нет", there's actually a use case when those forms are not interchangeable. Imagine following two conversations:
Анна: А пошли в кино?
Борис: Нет
Анна: Почему нет? У тебя какие-то другие планы на вечер?
And:
Анна: А пойдём в кино?
Борис: Почему [бы и] нет, а пошли!
As you can see, in this case "почему нет" serve for two completely different purposes. One is like "why no?", the other one is like "why not"?
"Почему бы и нет" is a valid translation of "why not" expressing a supposed possibility or opportunity of some action. Бы is a particle originated from the verb быть.(It can/could be). As for "почему нет", it is a colloquial variation, when used in the same meaning, a shorter one. But it can also be used in a different meaning, like a question asking for a reason, then the stress is on the first word почему.
