The German verb greifen means "to grab" or "to reach." It is a regular verb, and the object that follows will generally take the accusative, though the phrase nach etwas greifen will require the dative. 

Nur noch wenige Menschen greifen zum Rechen, um Laub zu entfernen.

Only a few people still reach for the rake to remove leaves.

Captions 56-57, Deutsch mit Eylin Herbst in Hamburg

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Die ganze Welt greift nach dem goldenen Pokal

The whole world is reaching for the golden cup

Caption 19, Sportfreunde Stiller: '54, '74, '90, 2006

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... welche es den Elefanten ermöglicht, Nahrung aus bis zu sieben Metern Höhe zu greifen.

...which enables the elephants to grab food from a height of up to seven meters.

Captions 26-27, Evolution An Land: Part 2

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Also, greifen is the root of a number of verbs. Let's have a look at zugreifen, angreifen, eingreifen, ergreifen, and begreifen. 

Darf man da mal probieren? -Ja, bitte. Greifen Sie zu.

Can I try it? -Yes, please. Help yourself.

Caption 83, Großstadtrevier: St. Pauli rettet HSV

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Im Gegensatz zu manchen Haien greifen Orcas Menschen normalerweise nicht an.

Unlike some sharks, orcas do not usually attack humans.

Captions 30-31, Die Top Ten: Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt

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Aber nach einer Weile haben wir mitgekriegt, dass die Volkspolizei und die Kampfgruppen... die haben nicht eingegriffen. Die haben uns laufen lassen.

But after a while, we realized that the People's Police and the Combat Groups... they weren't intervening. They were letting us walk.

Captions 6-8, 30 Jahre Mauerfall Deutschland 30 Jahre nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer - Part 2

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Manchmal muss man eine Gelegenheit ergreifen.

Sometimes you have to seize an opportunity.

Caption 25, Nicos Weg A2: Auf Wohnungssuche

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Das ist schwer zu begreifen.

That is difficult to comprehend.

Caption 6, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern

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Further Learning
Make flashcards to memorize the meaning of each of these verbs. You can find more examples of them used in context on Yabla German.

Although it's also the title of a Beatles song (covered by the Beach Boys too!), today we're taking a look at German variations of the adverb warum (why).

Und warum schickt die Lehrerin dann immer ihn Kreide holen?

So then why does the teacher always send him to get chalk?

Caption 40, Der kleine Nick: Nachmittag bei Adalbert

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Ich weiß nicht warum, aber auch die Luft ist in dieser Jahreszeit oft wunderbar klar.

I don't know why, but the air is often wonderfully clear at this time of year.

Captions 15-16, Deutsch mit Eylin: Herbst in Hamburg

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Ja? Warum nicht, warum nicht, warum nicht.

Yes? Why not, why not, why not.

Caption 14, Deutschkurs in Tübingen: Warum, weil - Erklärungen

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It's probably pretty clear that warum can be used in a variety of contexts. But there are also—in English as well as German—different ways of saying "why."

Weshalb hatte er dann eine Pistole?

Why did he have a pistol then?

Caption 21, Großstadtrevier: Schatten der Vergangenheit

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Weshalb hast du Entspannung gebraucht?

Why did you need relaxation?

Caption 18, Konjugation: Das Verb „brauchen“

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As you see above, the adverb weshalb has been correctly translated into English as "why." But these two German sentences could just as well have been translated in different ways:

Weshalb hatte er dann eine Pistole?
What did he have a pistol for, then?
How come he had a pistol, then?
For what reason did he have a pistol, then?

Weshalb hast du Entspannung gebraucht?
What did you need relaxation for?
How come you needed relaxation?
For what reason did you need relaxation?

The adverb weshalb can be used when you are explicitly asking about the purpose of something, and is, to some extent, the equivalent of the English "what for." The adverb weshalb tends to be used more often in a written context, but is also commonly used in spoken German.

Everything in a word's meaning will vary depending upon the context. It's simply more natural to say something one way than another, with varying factors such as the subtlety of the intended meaning and the formality or informality of the context all playing roles. In the following case, three different equivalent English words and phrases were used just to differentiate the German words— plus it would read pretty badly using "why" three times in a row!

Die Frageworte „wieso“, „weshalb“, „warum“ bedeuten alle das Gleiche. Aber „wieso“ und „warum“ werden am häufigsten verwendet.
The question words “how come,” “for what reason,” “why” all mean the same thing. But “how come” and “why” are the most commonly used.
Captions 6-7, Deutsch mit Eylin: Fragewörter

So while they may mean approximately the same thing, it's up to you to decide which German word works best in context. Here are some more words with similar "why" meanings:

Also, kann's Gründe geben, weswegen wir dann doch 'n bisschen später ankommen?

That is, is there any reason why we might arrive a little later?

Caption 60, Galileo Zug vs. Flugzeug: Von München nach Berlin

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The adverb weswegen is used more in writing than in speech, but if somebody ever asks you Weswegen?—and you want to be flippant—you can answer Deswegen! ("Why?" —"Because!")

Wozu braucht man einen Fruchtbarkeitstee, wenn man bereits schwanger ist?

Why do you need fertility tea if you are already pregnant?

Caption 9, Großstadtrevier Nicht mit mir - Part 5

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The adverb wozu is also often translated as "what for."

Further Learning
Look for the German "why" adverbs warum, weshalb, wieso, weswegen, and wozu on Yabla German and see some of the various contexts in which they are used. Then write a list of English sentences and see if you can make multiple translations to German using the words above.