The 5 W's and Which

In English, when we ask questions, we normally use the 5 w's or how or which. Japanese is the exact same, but their order of where they put the words is different. Here is a run through of all the interrogative words and how to use them.

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What 何

Hiragana Pronounciation: なに or なん

Romanization: nani or nan

Unlike English where you place the what in the front of the sentence (What is that?), you put it right before the verb. The subject of the question would go to the front, then the what, then the verb. If directly translated into English, it would look like this :

That what is?

Another thing to know when asking questions in Japanese is the question particle, か (ka), which is put at the end of a sentence to make a statement into a question. For example:

それは犬です Sorewa Nan Desu

That is a dog

+か

= それは犬ですか? Sorewa Inu Desu Ka?

Is that a dog?

You may also notice that there are two pronounciations of "what". You normally use "nani" if you are just saying "what" by itself, and "nan" is used when you attach it with a verb or if you use it in a sentence.

Also, if you want to use words like that or this, there are specific details you need to know:

There are two ways to say there or that or that one over there. One is the noun, and the other is an adjective.

Noun:

これ kore this (one)

それ sore that (one)

あれ a-re that (one over there)

You use these alone and don't attach them with other verbs. So a question like "What is that?" would work, but not "What is that dog?" because the "that" is describing the dog. The following words are used as adjectives:

Adjective:

この kono that (noun)

その sono that (noun)

あの ano that (noun) over there

Here are some examples of questions using 何 (nan) with their answers:

それは何ですか? Sorewa Nan Desu Ka?

What is that?

犬です. Inu Desu

It's a dog.

これ何ですか？　Kono Nan Desu Ka?

What is this?

りんごです。Ringo Desu

It is an apple.

Who 誰

Hiragana Pronounciation: だれ

Romanization: dare (dah-rey)

When you want to ask who somebody is, you put the noun (that person, her, him, etc.) first, then the word "who", then the copula, and finally the question particle か.

There is also another word for "who", どちら (dochira). You use this when you are mentioning a person of higher standing than you, or your elder.

NOUN + 誰 + です + か = Who is (insert noun here)?

Here are some example sentences using "dare":

あの人は誰ですか？ano hitowa dare desu ka?

Who is that person?

彼女は誰ですか? kanojo wa dare desu ka?

Who is she?

When いつ

Hiragana Pronounciation: いつ

Romanization: itsu

You put itsu in the front of the sentence this time. then, you put the thing that might take place and finally, か.

いつ + (event/thing/time) + か = When is (event/thing/time)?

To ask "What time is it?" in Japanese, say 何時ですか？(nan ji desu ka?).

Here are some example sentences:

いつアメリカに来ますか? itsu amerikani kirei masuka?

When did you come to the U.S.?

何時ですか？nan ji desu ka?

What time is it?

Where どこ

Hiragana Pronounciation: どこ

Romanization: doko

You put doko in the front of です. Then, add the location before doko and insert か at the end. The polite form of doko is どちら　(dochira)。

You sometimes might also find a hiragana character, に or には, after the location is mentioned. This is called a particle. Go to the "About" section under "Particles" to learn more.

　(location) + どこ + です　＋　か

Here are some example sentences:

日本どこですか？　nihon doko desu ka?

Where is Japan?

学校どこですか？ gakko doko desu ka?

Where is (the) school?

If you want to say something like 'Where is she going?" or "Where did you buy that?", you need to replace the です with the action you are asking about.

Think of it like 　(location or subject) + どこ + (verb)*　＋　か

For example, if you wanted to say

*In order to do this, you need to know how to conjugate the verb (activity) into the proper tense and politeness. Visit the "About" (scroll to the top of the page) section under "Conjugating Verbs" to learn how to do this.

Here are some example sentences:

サラはどこ行きましたか？　sara wa doko ikimashita ka?

Where did Sarah go?

この本がどこ買ったか？　kono hon ga doko katta ka?

Where did you buy that book?

Which どれ　or　どの

Hiragana Pronounciation: どれ or　どの

Romanization: dore or doko

To say which, use どれas a noun and どの as an adjective.

(subject) + どれ or どの (noun) + です＋か = Which (noun) is the (subject)?

Example sentences:

図書館はどの建物ですか？toshokan wa dono tatemono desuka?

Which building is the library?

図書館はどれですか? toshokan wa dore desu ka?

Which (one) is the library.

Why どうして

Hiragana Pronounciation: どうして

Romanization: doushite

To say why, put doushite in the first, then the thing you are questioning about, and finally んですか.

どうして + (subject being questioned) + ん + です＋か =

Why is/are (subject being questioned)?

Example sentences:

どうして日本語を読んでいますか？doushite nihongo o yonde imasu ka?

Why are you reading Japanese?

どうして残していますか？doushite nokoshite imasu ka?

Why are you leaving?

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I hope this post helped you learn how to ask questions using interrogative words. Feel free to print off this page to have it as a reference for the future. If you have any questions, please comment in the comment section below. Sayounara!

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