何必 / 何苦: why bother…?
副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
何必 + V (呢)？ | 何苦 + V (呢)？
何必 ("why must") is a rhetorical question meaning "there's no need": 何必生气呢？ = no need to get angry. Softer and more elegant than 不必.
何苦 ("why suffer") adds that you're tormenting yourself for nothing: 何苦为难自己？(why make life hard for yourself?).
Both often end with 呢 and are used to advise or console.
Examples
事情已经过去了，何必再想呢？
Shìqing yǐjīng guòqu le, hébì zài xiǎng ne?It's over: why keep thinking about it?
大家都是朋友，何必为这点儿小事吵架？
Dàjiā dōu shì péngyou, hébì wèi zhè diǎnr xiǎo shì chǎojià?We're all friends: why fight over something so small?
你明明不喜欢这份工作，何苦勉强自己？
Nǐ míngmíng bù xǐhuan zhè fèn gōngzuò, hékǔ miǎnqiǎng zìjǐ?You clearly don't like this job: why force yourself?
Common mistakes
✗ 何必 + 不: ✗ 何必不去？ is odd; use ✓ 为什么不去？
✗ Answering 何必 literally: it's not a real question.