Question Words in Japanese

Overview

Question words are essential building blocks for any language learner. In Japanese, question words like 何 (what), 誰 (who), and どこ (where) work differently from English in one important way: the question word stays in the same position as the answer would occupy. You do not need to move it to the front of the sentence as English does.

At CEFR A1, mastering the basic question words allows you to ask for information in everyday situations -- finding out what something is, where a place is, when something happens, or how much something costs. These are survival-level skills for navigating Japan or any Japanese-speaking context.

Japanese question sentences are formed by keeping the normal sentence structure and simply replacing the unknown information with the appropriate question word, then adding か (ka) at the end in polite speech. This makes forming questions quite systematic once you know the question words themselves.

How It Works

Core Question Words

Question Word	Reading	Meaning	Example
何	nani / nan	what	何ですか？(nan desu ka) -- What is it?
誰	dare	who	誰ですか？(dare desu ka) -- Who is it?
どこ	doko	where	どこですか？(doko desu ka) -- Where is it?
いつ	itsu	when	いつですか？(itsu desu ka) -- When is it?
なぜ / どうして	naze / doushite	why	どうしてですか？(doushite desu ka) -- Why?
どう	dou	how	どうですか？(dou desu ka) -- How is it?
いくら	ikura	how much	いくらですか？(ikura desu ka) -- How much?
どれ	dore	which (of 3+)	どれですか？(dore desu ka) -- Which one?
どちら	dochira	which (of 2)	どちらですか？(dochira desu ka) -- Which one?

Pronunciation Note: 何 (nani vs. nan)

何 is read as なん (nan) before です, で, and の. It is read as なに (nani) before を, が, and most particles.

• 何ですか？(nan desu ka) -- What is it?
• 何を食べますか？(nani o tabemasu ka) -- What do you eat?
• 何で行きますか？(nan de ikimasu ka) -- How do you go? (by what means?)

Sentence Structure

In polite speech, add か at the end of the sentence to form a question:

[Normal sentence with question word replacing unknown] + か

English	Japanese
This is a book. → What is this?	これは本です。→ これは何ですか？
He came. → Who came?	彼が来ました。→ 誰が来ましたか？
The station is there. → Where is the station?	駅はあそこです。→ 駅はどこですか？

Question Words with Particles

Question words take the same particles that their answers would:

Pattern	Example
誰が (who [subject])	誰が来ましたか？(dare ga kimashita ka)
何を (what [object])	何を食べますか？(nani o tabemasu ka)
どこに (where [destination])	どこに行きますか？(doko ni ikimasu ka)
いつ (when -- no particle needed)	いつ帰りますか？(itsu kaerimasu ka)

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
これは何ですか？(kore wa nan desu ka)	What is this?	何 read as なん before です
誰が来ましたか？(dare ga kimashita ka)	Who came?	誰 takes が for subject
駅はどこですか？(eki wa doko desu ka)	Where is the station?	どこ for location
いつ日本に来ましたか？(itsu nihon ni kimashita ka)	When did you come to Japan?	いつ needs no particle
これはいくらですか？(kore wa ikura desu ka)	How much is this?	Shopping essential
どうして遅れましたか？(doushite okuremashita ka)	Why were you late?	どうして for reason
名前は何ですか？(namae wa nan desu ka)	What is your name?	何 as なん
トイレはどこですか？(toire wa doko desu ka)	Where is the bathroom?	Very practical phrase
何が好きですか？(nani ga suki desu ka)	What do you like?	何 as なに with が
日本語はどうですか？(nihongo wa dou desu ka)	How is Japanese?	どう asks for impression
どれがいいですか？(dore ga ii desu ka)	Which one is good?	どれ for 3+ choices
お仕事は何ですか？(oshigoto wa nan desu ka)	What is your job?	Polite with お

Common Mistakes

Using は instead of が with question words as subjects

• Wrong: 誰は来ましたか？
• Right: 誰が来ましたか？
• Why: When a question word is the subject of the sentence, it always takes が because it represents new, unknown information.

Forgetting か in polite questions

• Wrong: これは何ですか。 (with a period, no rising intonation)
• Right: これは何ですか？
• Why: In polite speech, か marks the sentence as a question. In casual speech you can drop か and use rising intonation, but at A1 level, always include か.

Confusing なに and なん

• Wrong: なにですか？
• Right: 何ですか？(nan desu ka)
• Why: Before です, で, and の, 何 is pronounced なん. Before が, を, and most other particles, it is なに.

Using どこ for abstract "where"

• Wrong: どこが違いますか？ (sometimes correct, but often not what beginners intend)
• Right: 何が違いますか？ (What is different?)
• Why: どこ refers to physical location. For abstract questions about differences, 何 is often more appropriate at this level.

Practice Tips

• Learn question-answer pairs together. For every question word, practice both asking and answering: これは何ですか？→ これは本です。This builds both directions of conversation.

• Use question words for self-study. Point at objects around you and ask yourself これは何ですか？ then answer in Japanese. Move to locations (ここはどこですか？) and times (今何時ですか？).

• Memorize the survival questions. Prioritize the most useful real-world questions: トイレはどこですか？, これはいくらですか？, and すみません、何ですか？ These will serve you immediately in Japan.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Particles は/が/を/に -- question words interact directly with particles, especially が