Question Words in Japanese

In Brief

Japanese question words normally stay in the position where the answer would appear. Put the appropriate particle after the question word and, in polite speech, usually end the sentence with か: 何を食べますか？ means “What will you eat?” and どこに行きますか？ means “Where will you go?” Unlike English, Japanese does not normally move the question word to the beginning.

Overview

Question words ask for missing information: a thing, person, place, time, reason, method, or price. The essential Japanese forms are 何 “what,” 誰 “who,” どこ “where,” いつ “when,” なぜ／どうして “why,” どう “how,” and いくら “how much.” In Japanese they are called 疑問詞（ぎもんし）, literally “question words.”

This is an A1 topic, but it relies on a central feature of Japanese sentence structure: particles, short markers such as が, を, and に that show what a word is doing in the sentence. If the expected answer would take を, the question word takes を too. Compare パンを食べます “I eat bread” with 何を食べますか “What do you eat?”

English speakers need to resist rearranging the whole sentence. English changes “You are going there” into “Where are you going?” Japanese simply replaces the unknown information: そこに行きます becomes どこに行きますか. Once you learn to think of a question as a sentence with an information gap, the pattern is remarkably consistent.

How It Works

The core words

Japanese	Reading	Meaning	Main use
何	なに / なん (nani / nan)	what	things, actions, names, and categories
誰	だれ (dare)	who	people
どこ	doko	where	location, destination, or origin
いつ	itsu	when	an unknown time or date
なぜ	naze	why	reasons; relatively formal or analytical
どうして	dōshite	why; how come	reasons in ordinary conversation
どう	dō	how; what ... like	manner, condition, or opinion
いくら	ikura	how much	price or amount

Keep normal word order

A polite information question often follows this pattern:

question word + its particle + the rest of the sentence + か

The question word need not be first. Its position depends on its role:

• これは何ですか？ — What is this?
• 誰が来ましたか？ — Who came?
• 何を買いましたか？ — What did you buy?
• どこに住んでいますか？ — Where do you live?

Japanese often omits information that is already obvious, including “you.” いつ来ましたか？ can therefore mean “When did you come?” without a word for “you.”

Choose the particle by imagining the answer

Start with a possible answer, then replace the unknown part.

Possible answer	Replace this part	Question
田中さんが来ました。	田中さん → 誰	誰が来ましたか？
本を買いました。	本 → 何	何を買いましたか？
京都に行きます。	京都 → どこ	どこに行きますか？
東京から来ました。	東京 → どこ	どこから来ましたか？

The most useful combinations are:

• 誰が — who as the subject (the person doing or experiencing something)
• 誰に — to whom; from whom with verbs such as もらう
• 誰と — with whom
• 何を — what as the direct object (the thing directly affected by an action)
• 何で — by what means; with what
• どこで — where an action happens
• どこに／どこへ — where something exists or where someone goes
• どこから／どこまで — from where / as far as where

The contrast between どこで and どこに is especially important. Use で for the setting of an action: どこで食べますか？ “Where will you eat?” Use に for a destination or a place of existence: どこに行きますか？ “Where will you go?” and トイレはどこにありますか？ “Where is the restroom?”

When does not always take に

Specific time expressions often take に: 七時に起きます “I get up at seven.” However, the question word いつ normally appears without に in a direct question:

• いつ出発しますか？ — When will you leave?
• いつ日本に来ましたか？ — When did you come to Japan?

いつにしますか？ is possible in a different pattern: it means “What date/time shall we choose?” Here にする means “choose” or “decide on.” For a basic “when?” question, do not automatically add に.

何: なに or なん?

The kanji 何 has two common readings. The choice is largely fixed by the sound or expression that follows.

Form	Common environments	Example
なに	before particles such as を, が, に, から	何をしますか？（なにを）
なん	before です, の, and many counters	何ですか（なんですか）, 何時（なんじ）

Before で, the reading can distinguish meanings. 何で read なにで asks “with what?” or “by what means?”: 何で書きますか？ “What will you write with?” In conversation, 何で read なんで commonly means “why?”: なんで行かないの？ “Why aren’t you going?” Because context and intonation matter, beginners can use どうして for an unambiguous “why.”

Why and how are not interchangeable

どうして and なぜ ask for a reason. どう asks about manner, condition, or evaluation.

• どうして休みましたか？ — Why were you absent?
• 旅行はどうでしたか？ — How was the trip?
• これはどう使いますか？ — How do you use this?

なぜ is common in writing, presentations, explanations, and direct analytical questions. どうして often sounds more conversational. Neither is inherently rude, but a bare “why?” can sound demanding in any language; tone and context matter.

Asking prices and amounts

Use いくら for a price: これはいくらですか？ “How much is this?” It can also ask an amount, as in いくら必要ですか？ “How much is needed?” For a number of countable items, Japanese generally uses 何 plus a counter rather than いくら: 何個ですか？ “How many are there?” Counters are a separate topic, but common forms include 何人（なんにん, how many people）and 何時（なんじ, what time）.

Examples in Context

Japanese	Romanization	English	Note
これは何ですか？	Kore wa nan desu ka?	What is this?	何 is read nan before です.
朝ご飯に何を食べますか？	Asagohan ni nani o tabemasu ka?	What do you eat for breakfast?	を marks what is eaten.
誰が来ましたか？	Dare ga kimashita ka?	Who came?	誰 is the unknown subject.
誰と映画を見ましたか？	Dare to eiga o mimashita ka?	Who did you see the movie with?	と means “with.”
駅はどこですか？	Eki wa doko desu ka?	Where is the station?	A topic with は, followed by the unknown place.
どこで昼ご飯を食べますか？	Doko de hirugohan o tabemasu ka?	Where will you eat lunch?	で marks where the action occurs.
どこに住んでいますか？	Doko ni sunde imasu ka?	Where do you live?	に marks the place of residence.
いつ日本に来ましたか？	Itsu Nihon ni kimashita ka?	When did you come to Japan?	Basic いつ normally has no に.
どうして日本語を勉強していますか？	Dōshite Nihongo o benkyō shite imasu ka?	Why are you studying Japanese?	Conversational question about a reason.
この漢字はどう読みますか？	Kono kanji wa dō yomimasu ka?	How do you read this kanji?	どう asks about method.
新しい仕事はどうですか？	Atarashii shigoto wa dō desu ka?	How is your new job?	どう asks for an impression.
このかばんはいくらですか？	Kono kaban wa ikura desu ka?	How much is this bag?	Asking a price.
何で学校に行きますか？	Nani de gakkō ni ikimasu ka?	How do you get to school?	Literally “by what means?”

Common Mistakes

Moving the question word to the front like English

• Awkward: どこあなたは行きますか？
• Natural: あなたはどこに行きますか？ / どこに行きますか？
• Why: Keep the question word where the answer belongs. In a natural conversation, あなたは is usually unnecessary too.

Dropping the particle after a question word

• Wrong: 何食べますか？ (in standard careful speech)
• Right: 何を食べますか？
• Why: The unknown object still needs を. Particles are sometimes omitted casually, but first learn the complete pattern.

Using どこに for every kind of “where”

• Wrong: どこに勉強しますか？
• Right: どこで勉強しますか？
• Why: Studying is an action, so its setting takes で. Use に for destinations and existence, among other roles.

Adding に automatically after いつ

• Unnatural for the basic question: いつに日本へ行きますか？
• Right: いつ日本へ行きますか？
• Why: Direct いつ questions normally do not use に. いつにしますか is a valid but different expression meaning “When shall we set it for?”

Confusing どう and どうして

• Wrong for a reason: どう日本語を勉強しますか？ when you mean “Why do you study Japanese?”
• Right: どうして日本語を勉強しますか？
• Why: どう asks how; どうして asks why. The wrong version asks about the method of study instead of the reason.

Assuming 何 always sounds the same

• Wrong reading: なにですか
• Standard reading: なんですか
• Why: 何 is normally なん before です and many counters, but なに before particles such as を: 何を（なにを）.

Usage Notes

In polite conversation, か clearly marks a question: どこですか？ In casual speech, speakers often omit か and use rising intonation or a sentence-ending form such as の: どこ？ “Where?” or どうして行かないの？ “Why aren’t you going?” Do not simply attach か to every casual plain-form sentence; combinations such as a blunt plain form plus か have their own tone and can sound rough or masculine in some contexts. The polite ですか／ますか pattern is the safest starting point.

Japanese writing often uses the full-width question mark ？ in informal and modern text, but it is not required when か already marks the question. Both 何ですか。 and 何ですか？ can be seen. The question mark is especially useful in dialogue and learner materials.

For “who,” どなた is the respectful alternative to 誰. A receptionist might ask どなたですか？ “Who is it?” 誰ですか？ is grammatically correct and neutral in many situations, but どなた suits polite service or formal interaction.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these patterns at A1, but the same question words later form several important families.

Choosing among alternatives

Japanese distinguishes several “which” forms:

• どれ — which one, standing alone: どれがあなたの傘ですか？ “Which one is your umbrella?”
• どの + noun — which noun: どの傘ですか？ “Which umbrella is it?”
• どちら — which of two; also a polite “which/where”: お国はどちらですか？ “Which country are you from?”

In everyday use, どっち is the casual counterpart of どちら.

Turning question words into indefinite expressions

Adding か directly to a question word can create an unspecified person, thing, place, or time:

Form	Meaning	Example
誰か	someone	誰か来ました。 — Someone came.
何か	something	何か食べたいです。 — I want to eat something.
どこか	somewhere	どこかへ行きましょう。 — Let’s go somewhere.
いつか	someday	いつか日本へ行きたいです。 — I want to go to Japan someday.

With も, meaning depends on the grammar around it. 誰も来ませんでした means “Nobody came,” while 誰もが知っています means “Everyone knows.” These are not simply word-for-word combinations, so learn them as complete patterns.

Question words inside larger sentences

A question can be embedded inside another sentence. 田中さんがどこにいるか知っていますか？ means “Do you know where Tanaka is?” The clause ending in か represents the unresolved question “where Tanaka is.” Notice that the embedded clause does not use polite です／ます before か in the usual neutral pattern. This belongs to later study of plain forms and embedded questions.

なんで as “why”

In casual speech, なんで frequently means “why”: なんで遅れたの？ “Why were you late?” It can feel more immediate than なぜ, and tone can make it curious, surprised, or accusatory. Since 何で can also mean “by what means,” context resolves the ambiguity: 何で来ましたか？ may ask either “Why did you come?” or “How did you get here?” A specific answer such as 電車で makes the transport reading clear; careful speakers can choose どうして when they mean “why.”

Practice Tips

1. Build questions from answers. Write 図書館で勉強します “I study at the library,” cover 図書館, and replace it with どこ: どこで勉強しますか？ This trains both word order and particles.
2. Learn question word and particle pairs aloud. Practise short sets such as 誰が／誰と／誰に, 何を／何で, and どこで／どこに／どこから rather than memorising isolated words.
3. Listen for the answer type. When you hear いくら, expect a price; with 誰と, expect a person; with どうして, expect a reason. Predicting the shape of the answer makes real conversations easier to follow.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Particles は/が/を/に — understand how Japanese marks topics, subjects, objects, destinations, places, and times before combining particles with question words.