Question Words — 疑問詞
疑問詞 (gimonshi) are interrogative words used to ask specific questions. They replace the unknown part of a sentence and always pair with the question particle か in polite speech.
Word order
Japanese question words go in the same position as the answer would.
- なにを たべますか？ — What are you eating?
- どこに いきますか？ — Where are you going?
Core Question Words
| Hiragana | Kanji | Romaji | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| なに / なん | 何 | nani / nan | what | question word |
| だれ | 誰 | dare | who | question word |
| どなた | 何方 | donata | who (polite) | question word |
| いつ | 何時 | itsu | when | question word |
| どこ | 何処 | doko | where | question word |
| なぜ | 何故 | naze | why (formal/written) | question word |
| どうして | - | doushite | why (everyday) | question word |
| なんで | - | nande | why (casual, spoken) | question word |
| どう | - | dou | how (in what way) | question word |
| どうやって | - | dou yatte | how (by what method/means) | question word |
| どのように | どの様に | dono you ni | how (formal, more detail) | question word |
| どれ | - | dore | which one (of three or more) | question word |
| どちら | - | dochira | which one (of two), polite | question word |
| どっち | - | docchi | which one (of two, casual) | question word |
| どの | - | dono | which... (before a noun) | question word |
| どんな | - | donna | what kind of, what sort of | question word |
Examples
なに / なん (what)
- なにを たべますか？ — What are you eating?
- nani o tabemasu ka?
- なんじですか？ — What time is it? (なん before a counter)
- nanji desu ka?
- これは なんですか？ — What is this?
- kore wa nan desu ka?
だれ / どなた (who)
- あの ひとは だれですか？ — Who is that person?
- ano hito wa dare desu ka?
- どなたですか？ — Who is it? (polite, e.g. answering the door)
- donata desu ka?
いつ (when)
- たんじょうびは いつですか？ — When is your birthday?
- tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka?
- いつ にほんに きましたか？ — When did you come to Japan?
- itsu nihon ni kimashita ka?
どこ (where)
- トイレは どこですか？ — Where is the toilet?
- toire wa doko desu ka?
- どこに すんでいますか？ — Where do you live?
- doko ni sunde imasu ka?
なぜ / どうして / なんで (why)
- なぜ にほんごを べんきょうしていますか？ — Why are you studying Japanese? (formal)
- naze nihongo o benkyou shite imasu ka?
- どうして おくれましたか？ — Why were you late? (everyday)
- doushite okuremashita ka?
- なんで ないているの？ — Why are you crying? (very casual)
- nande naite iru no?
なぜ vs どうして vs なんで
All three mean "why" but differ in register:
- なぜ — formal/written, also used in serious spoken contexts
- どうして — everyday spoken Japanese, the most neutral choice
- なんで — very casual, use only with close friends or family
どう / どうやって / どのように (how)
- にほんごの べんきょうは どうですか？ — How is your Japanese study going?
- nihongo no benkyou wa dou desu ka?
- これは どうやって つかいますか？ — How do you use this?
- kore wa dou yatte tsukaimasu ka?
- えきまで どうやって いきますか？ — How do you get to the station?
- eki made dou yatte ikimasu ka?
どれ / どちら / どの (which)
- どれが すきですか？ — Which one do you like? (of 3 or more)
- dore ga suki desu ka?
- コーヒーと おちゃ、どちらに しますか？ — Coffee or tea, which will you have? (of 2)
- koohii to ocha, dochira ni shimasu ka?
- どの でんしゃに のりますか？ — Which train do you take? (before a noun)
- dono densha ni norimasu ka?
どれ vs どちら vs どの
- どれ — standalone pronoun for 3 or more items: どれが いいですか？
- どちら — standalone pronoun for exactly 2 items, also used as polite "where/which direction": どちらに なさいますか？
- どの — must be followed by a noun: どの バッグ？ (which bag?)
どんな (what kind of)
- どんな おんがくが すきですか？ — What kind of music do you like?
- donna ongaku ga suki desu ka?
- どんな ひとですか？ — What kind of person is they?
- donna hito desu ka?
どう vs どうやって vs どのように
- どう — asks about state or impression: どうですか？ (How is it? / What do you think?)
- どうやって — asks about method or process: どうやって いきますか？ (How do you get there?)
- どのように — formal version of どうやって, used in writing or polite speech
How Much and How Many
| Hiragana | Kanji | Romaji | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| いくら | 幾ら | ikura | how much (price) | question word |
| いくつ | 幾つ | ikutsu | how many (general), how old | question word |
| どのくらい | どの位 | dono kurai | how much, how many, approximately how | question word |
note
どれくらい (dore kurai) is a casual variant of どのくらい with the same meaning.
Examples
いくら (how much — price)
- これは いくらですか？ — How much is this?
- kore wa ikura desu ka?
- ぜんぶで いくらですか？ — How much is it altogether?
- zenbu de ikura desu ka?
いくつ (how many / how old)
- りんごは いくつ ありますか？ — How many apples are there?
- ringo wa ikutsu arimasu ka?
- おいくつですか？ — How old are you? (polite)
- oikutsu desu ka?
どのくらい (how much / how many in general)
- どのくらい かかりますか？ — How long does it take? / How much does it cost?
- dono kurai kakarimasu ka?
- どのくらい べんきょうしましたか？ — How much did you study?
- dono kurai benkyou shimashita ka?
How Long and How Far
| Hiragana | Kanji | Romaji | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| どのくらい | どの位 | dono kurai | how long (duration), how far (distance) | question word |
| なんじかん | 何時間 | nanjikan | how many hours | question word |
| なんぷん | 何分 | nanpun | how many minutes | question word |
| なんにち | 何日 | nannichi | how many days | question word |
| なんしゅうかん | 何週間 | nannshuukan | how many weeks | question word |
| なんかげつ | 何ヶ月 | nankagetsu | how many months | question word |
| なんねん | 何年 | nannen | how many years, what year | question word |
| どのくらいとおい | どの位遠い | dono kurai tooi | how far away | expression |
Examples
- とうきょうから おおさかまで どのくらい かかりますか？ — How long does it take from Tokyo to Osaka?
- toukyou kara oosaka made dono kurai kakarimasu ka?
- なんじかん ねましたか？ — How many hours did you sleep?
- nanjikan nemashita ka?
- えきまで なんぷん かかりますか？ — How many minutes does it take to the station?
- eki made nanpun kakarimasu ka?
- にほんに なんねん すんでいますか？ — How many years have you lived in Japan?
- nihon ni nannen sunde imasu ka?
Question Words with Counters
Question words combine with counters to ask specific quantities.
| Expression | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| なんにん | nannin | how many people |
| なんさい | nansai | how old (age) |
| なんじ | nanji | what time |
| なんようび | nan youbi | what day of the week |
| なんがつ | nangatsu | what month |
| なんまい | nanmai | how many (flat things: paper, tickets) |
| なんぼん | nanbon | how many (long things: bottles, pens) |
| なんこ | nanko | how many (small items: fruit, eggs) |
| なんかい | nankai | how many times |
| なんばん | nanban | what number |
Examples
- なんにんで いきますか？ — How many people are going?
- nannin de ikimasu ka?
- いまなんじですか？ — What time is it now?
- ima nanji desu ka?
- なんようびが すきですか？ — What day of the week do you like?
- nan youbi ga suki desu ka?
- このえいがは なんかい みましたか？ — How many times have you seen this movie?
- kono eiga wa nankai mimashita ka?
- チケットを なんまい かいましたか？ — How many tickets did you buy?
- chiketto o nanmai kaimashita ka?
Negative and Indefinite Forms
Question words combine with も or か to shift their meaning:
How to Build the Form
| Pattern | Formation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Negative | question word + も + negative verb | no one, nothing, nowhere... |
| Indefinite | question word + か | someone, something, somewhere... |
Vocabulary
| Hiragana | Romaji | English | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| だれも | daremo | no one | negative |
| だれか | dareka | someone | indefinite |
| なにも | nanimo | nothing | negative |
| なにか | nanika | something | indefinite |
| どこも | dokomo | nowhere | negative |
| どこか | dokoka | somewhere | indefinite |
| いつも | itsumo | never | negative |
| いつか | itsuka | sometime | indefinite |
| どれも | doremo | none of them | negative |
| どれか | doreka | one of them | indefinite |
いつも (always)
いつも without a negative verb is a fixed expression meaning "always/usually":
- いつも コーヒーを のみます。 — I always drink coffee.
Examples
- だれも いません。 — There is no one (here).
- dare mo imasen.
- なにか たべたいです。 — I want to eat something.
- nanika tabetai desu.
- どこかに いきましょう。 — Let's go somewhere.
- dokoka ni ikimashou.
- いつか にほんに いきたいです。 — I want to go to Japan someday.
- itsuka nihon ni ikitai desu.
Next Steps
Once you're comfortable with this lesson, check out: