This is the 479th most frequent Chinese word.
何
"何" means "what," "how," "why," or "which" in Classical Chinese and is sometimes used as a surname.
The word "何" here means "what" and is used to inquire about the identity of something.
这是何物？
What is this?
"何" in this case is used in the compound form "为何," which means "why," to inquire about the reason for an event.
为何他没有来？
Why hasn’t he come?
Here, the word "何" functions as part of the compound "如何," which means "how," to inquire about the method or manner of doing something.