Question words in Japanese

Level A1

Question words in Japanese

Japanese never moves words around to ask a question. You keep the sentence as it is and change only its ending: polite speech adds か after です or ます, and casual speech drops か and lets the voice rise, often with の. The question word simply takes the place where the answer will go. Use the polite form with strangers, staff and older people, and the casual one with friends and family.

The seven question words: 何, どうして, いつ, どこ, 誰, どれ, どう

English has one "which", Japanese has two. どれ stands on its own and means "which one": どれがいい？ ("Which one do you want?"). Right before a noun it becomes どの: どのバスが駅に行きますか？ ("Which bus goes to the station?").

Polite questions: add か after です or ます

〜です／ますか？

Casual questions with friends: no か, a rising voice, often の at the end

〜（の）？

The question word goes where the answer goes — and 誰が, not 誰は

English moves "where" to the front; Japanese leaves it where the answer would be. トイレはどこですか？ is answered トイレはあそこです — swap どこ for the answer and the sentence still works. In the same way, お店はいつ開きますか？ keeps いつ right before the verb.

When the question word is the subject, use が after it, never は: 誰がコーヒー飲む？ ("Who wants coffee?"). は marks something already known, and the person asked about isn't known yet.

何 is read なに on its own, but なん before です and counters such as 時: 今何時ですか？ (ima nanji desu ka).

Making plans with a friend: casual questions without です, ます or か

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