Questions are essential building blocks of language.
Whether you are trying to navigate a new country or want to create an engaging conversation and keep it flowing, knowing how to ask the right questions in Japanese will get you there!
Let’s start with what is sometimes called the ‘5 W’s’ in English: who, what, where, when, why. These question words are used to gather relevant information and allow one to hypothesize and analyze situations.
Dare / donata
だれ / どなた
Who
Dare (だれ) means ‘who’ in Japanese.
This question word is quite versatile: you can use it when posing questions in casual conversations with friends, or even in semi-formal situations such as with coworkers.
That being said, if you are in a more formal situation and want to display a higher level of respect, you should opt for the alternate term, donata (どなた).
Example:
あの人はだれですか
あのひとはだれですか
Ano hito wa dare desu ka
Who is that person?
Nani
何
What
‘What’ in Japanese is represented by the kanji character 何 (なに) and pronounced as nani.
Well, it is sometimes pronounced as nani and sometimes as nan… This depends on the word that follows and/or if it is used in a kanji compound. For example, nanji (何時 / なんじ) means ‘what time’. You will learn when to use each one in context, when you learn new compounds or phrases.
何 is always pronounced as nani when it is a standalone word.
Nani is suitable for use in both informal and formal speech.
Example:
これは何？
これはなに
Kore wa nani
What is this? (Informal)
Example (variation):
これは何ですか
これはなんですか
Kore wa nan desuka
What is this? (Polite)
Naze / nande
なぜ / なんで
Why
Depending on the social situation you find yourself in, there are a few different ways to ask