Asking questions in Japanese means familiarizing yourself with question words like “who” and “what.” After all, you’ll want to know how to ask pressing questions like, “Where is the restroom?” and “How much does this ticket cost?” regardless of how long you plan to be in Japan. Even if your curiosity only extends to asking someone else what their name is, Japanese question words are essential knowledge on your path to learn how to speak Japanese.
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How to ask a question in Japanese
Asking a question in Japanese is simple, and essentially just requires the addition of one of the Japanese particles at the end of the sentence: ka (か). Otherwise, the basic word order remains the same. In fact, shitsumon (質問, the Japanese word for “question”) can be so similar to their related answers that the only difference between them is that the question includes particle ka.
- Ninjin o tabemashita ka.（にんじんを食べましたか。）= Did you eat your carrots?
- Hai. Ninjin o tabemashita.（はい。にんじんを食べました。）= Yes, I ate my carrots.
When using question words, Japanese word order is still the same for questions as it is for statements, but you’ll be swapping the question word in where the answer would normally fit in the sentence. If the question word replaces the subject or topic of the sentence, you’ll use particle ga (が) instead of wa (は). This is most relevant for the words “who” and “which.”
- Dare ga kaite imasu ka.（誰が書いていますか。）= Who is writing?
- Onna no ko ga kaite imasu.（女の子が書いています。）= The girl is writing.
What is the question mark in Japanese?
If a question ends in particle ka, that functions as a question mark. Even if the end of a sentence is marked with a Japanese period (。), it’s a question if the sentence ends in ka.
However, Japanese punctuation still includes Western-style question marks (？)! This is especially useful in casual speech, where particle ka is usually replaced by a rising intonation.
- Dare ga kaiteiru?（だれが書いている？）= Who’s writing?
Otherwise, periods are generally favored over question marks in formal writing.
List of common Japanese question words
As Japanese has several levels of formality, many question words in English have more than one Japanese equivalent. Navigating the difference between formal vs. informal speech in Japanese can demonstrate your fluency and manners by only changing a few words.
However, the words in this chart are the most essential translations for seven common question words to add to your vocabulary. For more details, read about the individual question words below!
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| 誰 | dare | who |
| 何 | nan/nani | what |
| どこ | doko | where |
| いつ | itsu | when |
| どうして | dōshite | why |
| どれ | dore | which |
| どう | dō | how |
How to say ‘who’ in Japanese
You have three primary ways to ask “who” in Japanese: dare (誰) for the majority of cases and dochira (どちら) or donata (どなた) for formal situations.
Dare is straightforward to use. Just put it in the same part of the sentence where the person’s identity will be in the answer.
- Dare ga tabete imasu ka.（誰が食べていますか。）= Who is eating?
- Keisatsukan ga tabete imasu.（警察官が食べています。）= The police officer is eating.
The difference between dochira and donata is slight. In fact, both can be written with the same kanji despite their differing pronunciations: 何方. In general, you can use dochira to ask “which person” (in the same way you would ask “which one” for an object) and maintain a neutral, polite tone. Donata is typically reserved for exceptionally formal situations when you would use Japanese honorific speech (or keigo), which also comes with a more elevated verb.
- Dochira ga tabete imasu ka.（どちらが食べていますか。）= Who is eating? (Literally: Which person is eating?) (polite)
- Donata ga meshi agarimasu ka.（どなたが召し上がりますか。）= Who is eating? (formal)
To turn “who” into the possessive “whose” in Japanese, use the possessive particle no after the word for “who” and continue the sentence normally.
- Dare no gakki desu ka.（誰の楽器ですか。）= Whose instruments are these?
- Doramu wa watashi no desu.（ドラムは私のです。）= The drums are mine.
How to say ‘what’ in Japanese
The word for “what” is either nan or nani (both written with the character 何), depending on its place in a sentence and/or other words that might be attached to it.
In general, “what” is nan when immediately preceding the “to be” verb, desu (です).
- Kore wa nan desu ka.（これは何ですか。）= What is this?
- Kore wa ringo desu.（これはりんごです。）= This is an apple.
Meanwhile, nani is more common if it’s followed by a particle. In many cases, this will be the particle o (を).
- Onna no hito wa nani o shite imasu ka.（女の人は何をしていますか。）= What is the woman doing?
- Onna no hito wa yonde imasu.（女の人は読んでいます。）= The woman is reading.
However, if you want to say “what kind of,” you’ll need a completely different word: donna (どんな). This is part of the ko-so-a-do series of demonstrative pronouns in Japanese.
- Donna ongaku ga suki desu ka.（どんな音楽が好きですか。）= What kind of music do you like?
How to say ‘where’ in Japanese
“Where” is doko (どこ) in Japanese, and its usage and word position is very similar to “what.”
- Otōsan wa doko desu ka.（お父さんはどこですか。）= Where is Dad?
- Daidokoro ni imasu.（台所にいます。）= He is in the kitchen.
If you want to be more formal, you can replace doko with dochira (yes, the same word that can be used for “who!”).
- Otōsan wa dochira desu ka.（お父さんはどちらですか。）= Where is Dad? (formal)
Remember that, because the question word will be answered with a location or a destination, the particle that follows it needs to reflect that role if the accompanying verb requires it. For doko, that will usually be de (for location) or ni (destination).
- Doko ni ikimasu ka.（どこに行きますか。）= Where are you going?
- Watashi wa kusuriya ni ikimasu.（私は薬屋に行きます。）= I am going to the pharmacy.
- Doko de renshū shimasu ka.（どこで練習しますか。）= Where do you practice?
- Tokidoki koko de renshū shimasu. Mata, tokidoki gakkō de renshū shimasu.（時々ここで練習します。また、時々学校で練習します。）= Sometimes we practice here. Sometimes we practice at the school.
How to say ‘when’ in Japanese
The question word for “when” in Japanese is itsu (いつ), and it’s easy to use because you don’t need to attach a particle at all! Instead, insert itsu into the sentence wherever it would make sense to include the time (usually, the beginning of the sentence is safest).
- Itsu hataraite imasu ka.（いつ働いていますか。）= When do you work?
- Watashi wa asa hataraite imasu.（私は朝働いています。）= I work in the morning.
In English translations, you’ll often see “when” used to reference a point in time. However, this usage does not involve a question word in Japanese. Instead, the word toki (時, time) is used to indicate when something specific happened.
- Watashitachi ga kaigan ni ita toki ni wa, kumori deshita.（私たちが海岸にいた時には、曇りでした。）= When we were at the beach, it was cloudy. (Literally: At the time we were at the beach, it was cloudy.)
How to say ‘why’ in Japanese
Like “when,” you don’t need to add a particle after the Japanese word for “why,” which is either dōshite (どうして), naze (なぜ), or nande (なんで).
Dōshite is the most neutral of the three, and it can be used in both polite and casual situations.
- Dōshite te o aratte imasu ka.（どうして手を洗っていますか。）= Why are you washing your hands?
- Yogorete imasu kara aratte imasu.（汚れていますから洗っています。）= I am washing my hands because they are dirty.
The simplest way to describe naze is that it’s a slightly more formal version of “why,” but it’s also slightly less emotional. When using it, there’s an implication that you’re curious about the reasoning behind whatever you’re questioning, regardless of your personal feelings about it.
- Naze te o aratte imasu ka.（なぜ手を洗っていますか。）= Why are you washing your hands? (formal/polite)
Nande is decidedly casual, and the rest of the sentence should also be in casual form to reflect the change. You could also translate it as “how come.”
- Nande te o aratte iru no?（なんで手を洗っているの？）= Why are you washing your hands? (Alternatively: How come you’re washing your hands?) (casual)
How to say ‘which’ in Japanese
To say “which” in Japanese, you have two main options: dore (どれ) and dono (どの). Dore is the simpler of the two, fitting into a sentence without needing a particle.
- Sara san no kōto wa dore desu ka.（サラさんのコートはどれですか。）= Which is your coat?
- Akai kōto desu. Yonbanme desu.（赤いコートです。四番目です。）= My coat is red. It is the fourth coat on the right.
The formal version of dore is dochira (that brings your total number of dochira uses up to three!), and it works exactly the same. Docchi is the casual version, and the tone and word choice in the rest of the sentence should match it.
- Sara san no kōto wa dochira desu ka.（サラさんのコートはどちらですか。）= Which is your coat? (formal/polite)
- Sara no kōto wa docchi?（サラさんのコートはどっち？）= Which is your coat? (casual)
However, there is one more difference between dono and dochira. While dochira can be used as a more formal variation, it’s also usually reserved for deciding between two options (e.g., right or left), while dore is for any number of options.
Dono is the possessive version of “which.” Think of it like a contraction of dore no (“which” plus the possessive particle no). Unlike dore, you’ll need to follow up dono with appropriate Japanese nouns right away.
- Dono kudamono ga midori desu ka.（どの果物が緑ですか。）= Which fruit is green?
- Kono kudamono ga midori desu.（この果物が緑です。）= This fruit is green.
The formal variant does not have a conveniently combined term, so you’ll need to use dochira and particle no to achieve the same effect.
- Dochira no dōbutsu ga ōkii desu ka.（どちらの動物が大きいですか。）= Which animal is big?
- Kochira no dōbutsu ga ōkii desu.（こちらの動物が大きいです。）= This animal is big.
How to say ‘how’ in Japanese
“How” is one of the more complicated question words in Japanese language resources, but dō (どう) is the standard definition. If you wanted to simply ask how something is, you could just say:
- Ondo wa dō desu ka.（温度はどうですか。）= How is the temperature?
Similarly, you can swap dō for ikaga (いかが) in formal or polite situations (which may come with a more polite verb).
- Ondo wa ikaga deshō ka.（温度はいかがでしょうか。）= How is the temperature? (formal)
Otherwise, words that equate to “how” in English vary in Japanese depending on situation and usage to the point where you wouldn’t necessarily know they all use the same word in English. For example, asking for the cost of something uses ikura (幾ら, how much):
- Ninjin wa ikura desu ka.（にんじんはいくらですか。）= How much do the carrots cost?
- Ninjin wa san doru desu.（にんじんは三ドルです。）= The carrots cost three dollars.
Here are a handful of other ways you might use “how” in English that use unique Japanese terms.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| どうやって | dō yatte | how (as in: How did you get here?) |
| どんなに | donna ni | how much (as in: How much do you love me?) |
| どのように | dono yō ni | how (as in: How does this work?) |
| どのくらい | dono kurai | how long; how far (as in: How long is the trip?) |
| なんと | nan to | how (as in: How rude!) |
| お元気ですか。 | ogenki desu ka | How are you? (Literally: Are you well?) |
Using ‘nan’ to say ‘how many’ in Japanese
When counting anything in Japanese, you’ll need to add a type of suffix known as Japanese counters to the end of the number or quantity. However, to ask “how many” of something there is, you won’t use any of the Japanese words for “how.” Rather, you’ll combine the word nan (“what”) with the appropriate counter for the situation in the majority of cases.
- Okyakusan ga nannin imasu ka.（お客さんが何人いますか。）= How many guests are there?
- Sanjū nin imasu.（三十人います。）= There are thirty.
Japanese has literally hundreds of counters, although you’ll typically only use a few dozen. Here are some of the most common counters that use nan to ask “how many.”
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| 何人 | nannin | how many people |
| 何歳 | nansai | how many years old (for people) |
| 何個 | nanko | how many items |
| 何枚 | nanmai | how many flat objects |
| 何本 | nanbon | how many cylindrical objects |
| 何回 | nankai | how many times |
Telling time in Japanese with the counter ~ji (時) is one translation exception. While it still uses nan, it translates to what time instead of how many hours (which would be a slightly different term: nanjikan, 何時間).
- Ima nanji desu ka.（今何時ですか。）= What time is it?
- Gogo niji yonjūnifun desu.（午後二時四十二分です。）= It is two forty-two p.m.
You don’t have to ask ‘how’ or ‘why’ with Rosetta Stone
Even though you have a wider variety of options to select from, Japanese question words offer a high degree of specificity by having so many nuanced choices. When in doubt, you’ll be able to stick with the seven common question words for the majority of cases. When you’re ready to step up to the challenge, try getting creative with all of the other choices available to you.
The best way to practice asking questions is to, well, ask questions! With Rosetta Stone Tutoring, you can work with a language expert to get a more in-depth look at one of Rosetta Stone’s core lessons. If you have questions, try asking in Japanese!
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