Asking what something is in Japanese

Level A1

Asking what something is in Japanese

A book in your hand, a desk beside your teacher: by the end of this lesson you can ask what each thing is and say what it is. You will point with これ (kore) and それ (sore), learn three everyday nouns and ask politely with か (ka). All of it fits one frame with は and です.

A quick warm-up: は and です

You may already know 私はアナです (watashi wa Ana desu), "I am Ana." As a particle, は is read wa and sets the topic; です (desu) closes the sentence politely and links the topic to what it is. When the topic is clear you can drop it and say just アナです. Today the topic is a thing instead of a person, and the frame stays the same.

  • formal

    私(わたし)はアナです。

    I am Ana.

The words you need: 本, 机, 椅子, これ, それ, 何

本 (hon) is a book, 机 (tsukue) a desk for working or studying, and 椅子 (isu) a chair, often written いす in kana. これ (kore) points to something near you and それ (sore) to something near the person you're talking to. They stand alone in place of the thing's name, so they don't work like the "this" in "this book".

何 means "what". On its own it is read nani, but right before です it is read nan, which is what you will hear in this lesson.

Japanese nouns have no articles and no gender, and 本 stays 本 for one book or several. The "a" in the translations is there because English needs it.

Model: naming things in class

In a Japanese class, a student asks the teacher what a few objects are. Listen once without reading. The book is in the student's hand, so she says これ and the teacher says それ; the desk is beside the teacher, so the two words swap. The last two lines use あれ (are) for something far from both of them, at the back of the room. Just recognize it for now: you don't need to use it yet.

Saying what it is: これは本です

Put the thing first, then は, its name and です: これは本です (kore wa hon desu), "This is a book." When you point at something, the choice depends on who is close to it: near you it's これ, near the other person it's それ. English "that" doesn't make this split, because it also covers あれ. So if someone holding a book asks you これは何ですか, you normally answer それは本です.

これ／それは本／机／椅子です

Asking what it is: これは何ですか

Start from the statement, put 何 where the name goes and add か (ka) at the end: これは本です becomes これは何ですか (kore wa nan desu ka). Nothing moves, whereas English sends "what" to the front. か is what turns a sentence ending in です into a polite question; a short question like お名前は？ (Onamae wa?, "Your name?") manages without it, but a full one with です normally takes it. To answer, you can drop これは once it's clear what you mean, just as with アナです: 本です (hon desu), "It's a book."

これ／それは何(なに)（なん）ですか

Checking a name: はい or いいえ

か also works when you already have a name in mind: これは本ですか (kore wa hon desu ka), "Is this a book?" It's the same sentence with か added, and nothing swaps places as "is this" does in English. If it's right, say はい (hai, yes) and repeat the name: はい、本です. If it's wrong, say いいえ (iie, no) and give the right name: いいえ、椅子です. Saying "it isn't a book" comes in a later lesson; for now, the right name is all you need.

これ／それは本／机／椅子ですか

Your turn, and the summary

Picture a colleague holding a book, and a chair next to you. Cover the sentences below. Point at the book and ask what it is, then answer as your colleague. Point at the chair and ask again, then answer as your colleague, first with それは and then with the short form. Only then check.

In short: これ is near you and それ near the other person. The frame is …は…です. 何 takes the place of the name, and か makes the sentence a polite question. To answer, once it's clear, 本です is enough.

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