Certainly, it’s more helpful to learn question words in context.

Once you start

understanding the use of each question word in everyday life, you’ll quickly learn
them by heart. Let’s take a look at the common question phrases in Japanese.

What in Japanese
The question “what” can be expressed in 2 ways. It can be なに (nani) or なん (nan).
Although, they both mean “what”, there can be a difference in usage.

なに (nani) can be used without being attached to other Japanese words and it can’t
be used with ですか (desu ka). On the other hand, なん (nan) can’t stand alone so it
needs to be attached with ですか (desu ka). Let’s take a look at the examples below:

あなたの名前はなんですか？

(あなたのなまえはなんですか | Anata no namae wa nan desuka?)

What is your name?

なにか困っていますか？

(なにかこまっていますか | Nanika komatte imasuka?)

What is the matter? May I help you?

Where in Japanese
どこ (doko) is used to ask “where”. It is written as 何処 in Kanji. Here are some
examples:

どこからきましたか？

Dokokara kima shitaka?

Where are you from?

どこに住んでいますか？

(どこ に すんでいます か？ | Doko ni sunde imasuka?)

Where do you live?

When in Japanese
If you’re going to ask for time or date, you can use the Japanese word いつ (itsu).
Here’s how to use the question word いつ (itsu):

いつから日本語を勉強していますか？

(いつ から にほんご を べんきょうしています か？ | Itsu kara Nihongo wo Benkyou

shiteimasuka?)

Since when have you been studying Japanese?

次のレッスンはいつですか？

(つぎ の れっすん は い つ です か？ | Tsugi no ressun wa itsu desuka?)

When is our next lesson?

A group of pupils inside a classroom

Why in Japanese
The question word “why” can be expressed in 3 ways. なぜ (naze), なんで (nande) and
どうして (doushite) are used to say “why”. The difference among these words is based
on emotions and rationality.

なぜ (naze) is used when asking about reason or motive and cause. どうして (doushite)
can also be used for asking about reason or motive but is also used to ask for
method or process. なんで (nande) can be used as なぜ (naze) and どうして (doushite)
are used. However, it’s important to note that なぜ (naze) and なんで (nande) are
commonly used in conversations as they are less formal. どうして (doushite) is less
used since it is a formal word for “why”.

なぜ日本語を勉強しているのですか？

(なぜ にほんご を べんきょうしている の です か？ | Naze Nihongo wo benkyou shiteiruno

desuka?)

Why do you study Japanese?

どうして日本に来たのですか？

(どうして にっぽん に きた の です か？ | Doushite Nihon ni kitano desuka?)

Why did you come to Japan?

Who or Whom in Japanese

When asking for the questions who and whom in Japanese, you’ll use だれ (dare).
Here are some examples:

あの人はだれですか？

(あの ひと は だれ です か？ | Anohito wa dare desuka?)

Who is the person over there?

だれと一緒に来ましたか？

(だれ と いっしょ に きました か？ | Dare to isshoni kima shitaka?)

With whom did you come with?

Which in Japanese
There are 3 ways to say which in Japanese. You can say it as どれ (dore) or どちら
(dochira) or どちらの (dochira no) or どの (dono).

どれ (dore) and どちら (dochira) both mean “which” but どちら (dochira) is the polite
form. However, in usage, どれ (dore) is used when there are 3 or more options to
choose from. どちら (dochira), on the other hand, is used when there are 2 things to
choose from.

どの (dono) is also used when there are more than 2 choices, but it functions as an
adjective. It is used when asking which noun. It follows the form “どの (dono) +
noun”. どちらの (dochira no) can mean “whichever”.

どの駅にいきたいですか？
(どの えき に いきたい です か？ | Dono Eki ni ikitai desuka? )

Which station do you want to go?

どちらがあなたのかばんですか？

Dochira ga anata no kaban desuka?

Which is your bag?

Whose in Japanese
The word だれの (dareno) is used when you’re asking for the who the owner of an
object. Here are sample sentences for だれの (dareno).

これはだれの本ですか？

(これ は だれ の ほん です か？ | Kore wa dareno Hon desuka?)

Whose book is this?

だれのパスポートをなくしましたか？

Dareno pasupo-to wo nakushimashitaka?

Whose passport did you lose?

How in Japanese
There are 3 ways to ask “how” in Japanese. You can say it as どう(dou), どうやって
(dou yatte), or どのように (dono youni). どう(dou) can simply be used when asking how
are things.

On the other hand, どのように and どうやって are both question words used to ask “how”
to do something. The only difference between the two Japanese phrases is in their
formality level. どのように is more formal (and polite) than どうやって.

これはどうですか？

Kore wa dou desu ka?

How is this?

ここまでどうやってきましたか？

Kokomade dou yatte kimashitaka?

How did you get here?

どのように食べますか？

(どの ように たべます か？| Dono youni tabe masuka? )

How do I eat this?

Two females sitting having fun while drinking a cup of coffee

Get Free "Japanese Question Words" PDF

Other Japanese Question Words
At this point, you now know the basic Japanese question words. These questions also
have different variations. Let’s learn about them below to help add to your
vocabulary:

English Hiragana Romaji

What kind of どんな
どのような donna
dono youna
How much いくら
どのくらい ikura
dono kurai
How many いくつ
どのくらい ikutsu
dono kurai
How many
How much
How long
How often どのくらい
どれくらい dono kurai
dore kurai
Which one どれ
どちら dore
dochira
What kind of in Japanese
There are 2 ways you can ask “what kind of” in Japanese. You can use the questions
どんな (donna) or どのような (dono youna) to ask. Here are some examples:

あなたの故郷はどんなところですか？

(あなた の こきょう は どんな ところ です か? | Anata no kokyou wa donna tokoro desuka?)

What kind of place is your hometown?

どのような音楽が好きですか？

(どの ような おんがく が すき です か? | Dono youna ongaku ga sukidesuka? )

What kind of music do you like?

How much in Japanese

Asking “how much” in Japanese can be expressed in 2 ways. You can ask how much by
saying いくら (ikura) or どのくらい (dono kurai).

これはいくらですか？

Ikura desuka?

How much