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JAPANESE QUESTION WORDS
The particle か is used at the end of a sentence to ask a question.
Additionally, it’s important to know that the question mark is not used in the Japanese Language.
You should also practice other particles like は, に and が as you will need to use them while making a question sentence.
WHEN IN JAPANESE || いつ
When you don’t need to know the exact time, but would like to know roughly when an event is occurring, you can use the Japanese question word いつ.
いつ
itsu
When
For example, you might not want to know someone’s exact time of birth when asking about their birthday, right? In this instance, you can use the following example:
| JAPANESE SENTENCE | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 誕生日はいつですか。 | たんじょうびはいつですか。 | Tanjyoubi wa itsu desuka. | When is your birthday? |
AT WHAT TIME IN JAPANESE || 何時
Japan has a reputation for being an efficient nation, take their incredibly prompt trains as a good example!
You’ll need this question word more times than you think.
何時
nanji
At what time
Remember that friend whose birthday you just asked? Guess what? It’s tomorrow!
Now, you want to go to the shop to buy a gift for that friend. You wouldn’t want to miss a train, would you? So, you can keep this example in mind:
| JAPANESE SENTENCE | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 電車は何時に出ますか。 | でんしゃはなんじにでますか。 | Densha wa nanjini demasuka. | At what time does the train leave. |
WHAT IN JAPANESE || なん
Now that you have reached the shop, you are looking at various things but you are just confused.
While practicing Japanese counters, we have learned that 何 is the kanji for なん which means ‘what‘. So this question word is just that!
なん
nan
What
If you have something in pointing range, and would like to know what that is, you can just ask:
| JAPANESE SENTENCE | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|---|
| これは何ですか。 | これはなんですか。 | Kore wa nan desuka. | What is this? |
HOW MUCH IN JAPANESE || いくら
Oh, you’ve found something you like! To ask the price of an item, the question word いくら will be used.
いくら
ikura
How much
Let’s say you’ve decided to buy a book. Here, you can use the topic marker particle は to ask about the specific object.
| JAPANESE SENTENCE | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 本はいくらですか。 | ほんはいくらですか。 | Hon wa ikura desuka. | How much is the price of a book? |
HOW IN JAPANESE || どう / いかが
Now that you are considering the gift to buy, you’d want to get a second opinion from a friend, just to be sure.
When you want to ask someone’s opinion, you can use this question word.
どう
dō
How
| HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| これはどうですか。 | Kore wa dou desuka. | How is this? |
いかが along with でしょうか forms a polite version of the sentence.
| これはいかがでしょうか。 | Kore wa ikaga deshouka. | How is this? |
WHO IN JAPANESE || だれ / どなた
Finally, you are at the friend’s birthday party.
You discover lots of new people. So this question word is specifically used for people. If you want to ask your friend who someone is, you’ll use this question word.
どなた (donata) is a polite form of だれ (dare).
| HIRAGANA | ROMAJI | ENGLISH |
|---|---|---|
| あのひとはだれですか。 | Ano hito wa dare desuka. | Who is that person? |
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Check out how to ask questions in other languages here:
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FAQs
How to say When in Japanese?
When in Japanese is いつ (itsu).
How to say How much in Japanese?
How much in Japanese is いくら (ikura).
How to say Who in Japanese?
Who in Japanese is だれ (dare) or どなた (donata), which is more polite.
What are examples of questions in Japanese?
誕生日はいつですか。(Tanjyoubi wa itsu desuka.) | When is your birthday?
電車は何時に出ますか。(Densha wa nanjini demasuka.) | At what time does the train leave.
これは何ですか。(Kore wa nan desuka.) | What is this?
本はいくらですか。(Hon wa ikura desuka.) | How much is the price of a book?
How to build a sentence in Japanese?
The most basic Japanese sentence structure is:
Subject + は + Object + です.
This sentence structure is used for generalised things or stating facts.
Is Japanese easy to learn?
Just like for any foreign language, Japanese has easy and more difficult aspects.
If you learn the language following a structured course with regular study sessions, you’ll make great progress and overcome difficulties in a more efficient manner.
This is what LTL is all about, so make sure to check out our Japanese Flexi Classes.