How to ask questions in Japanese?

Yes-No questions are questions that can be answered with はい[hai](yes) or いいえ[iie](no).

If you’re looking for confirmation of something you’re pretty sure of already, you can use the particle ね[ne] in place of か[ka].

Alternative questions offer the listener two or more options, requiring the listener to choose one. In Japanese, they are formed by combining asking two yes-no questions, back-to-back, sometimes with the word それとも[soretomo](or) between them.

Wh-questions are questions that include a question word like 何[nani](what) and いつ[itsu](when). They are more open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.

In English, the question word always comes first, but in Japanese it comes in the same place where the answer to the question would come in a statement. Don’t forget to add the question marker か[ka] at the end though! For example:

Question , though, do tend to come at the beginning of a question.

When you’re asking about the of a sentence, it should always be followed by the particle が[ga], rather than the topic marker は[wa].

There are various question words in Japanese. In the next section, we will discuss them in more detail so that you can select the most suitable one for your question!

The question pronoun 何[nani] is used to ask “what.”

When it’s followed by any of the sounds in the な[na], た[ta], or だ[da]-lines of the Hiragana chart, 何[nani] is pronounced [nan], since that’s easier to say.

You can combine 何[nani] with the particle の[no] as a way to modify a noun.

The question words 誰[dare] and どなた[donata] are both used to ask “who,” but どなた[donata] carries a much more polite and sophisticated connotation.

誰[dare] can be connected with another noun using the particle の[no] to ask about the possessor of something, just like “whose” in English.

The question words どこ[doko] and どちら[dochira] are used to ask “where.” どこ[doko] is more common in everyday conversation, while どちら[dochira] sounds much more polite.

We often use these words to ask about where someone works or goes to school.

You can use a noun + の[no] before どこ[doko] as a way to ask “what part of…” or “where in…”

In Japanese we use the word どれ[dore] to ask “which one”, if you’re choosing from three or more options.

If you’re choosing between just a pair of options, though, you’d use どっち[docchi], or its polite version どちら[dochira].

どちら[dochira] and どっち[docchi] can also be used to ask for directions, meaning “which way.”

The question word いつ[itsu] is used to ask "when.”

If you want to ask “around when” or “about when,” you can add ごろ[goro] after いつ[itsu].

While you can answer an いつ[itsu] question with an exact time, you can more specifically ask for a clock time can ask “at what time” using 何[nani] + time counter. Check out our post on clock time in Japanese to learn more!

Use the word どの[dono] before a noun to mean “which”, when you’re picking between three or more options.

どんな[don’na] or どういう[dōiu], or the more formal word どのような[donoyōna], are used before a noun to ask “what kind of…”.

どういう[dōiu] can be used before 意味[imi](meaning) or こと[koto](thing) as a way to seek clarification about the meaning of what somebody said or why they said what they did.

The word どうして[dōshite] is used to ask “why” in most circumstances. For a more casual equivalent, use なんで[nande], and for a more formal or bookish word use なぜ[naze].

When using these adverbs in question sentences, it's common to add the sentence-ending expression のだ[no da] or んだ[n da].

To ask “how” in Japanese, use the word どう[dō]. This word is used to ask about the way or manner in which something was done.

The phrase どうやって[dō yatte] is often used instead of どう[dō] when you’re asking how someone does something. やって[yatte] is the te-form of the verb やる[yaru](to do).

The phrase どのくらい[dono kurai] is used to ask about about a quantity (“how much” or “how many”) or to ask “how long” something lasts. You can optionally replace くらい[kurai] with ぐらい[gurai].

You can also sometimes use いくつ[ikutsu] for “how many,” as long as the item you’re asking about can be counted using the Japanese counters 〜つ[tsu] or 〜個[ko].

When asking about the approximate number of items, you can add ぐらい[gurai].

Please note that for those items that require counters other than 〜つ[tsu] and 〜個[ko], you’ll need to use either どのくらい[dono kurai], a generic “how many?”, or 何[nani] + the appropriate counter word, which is more like “what number of…”, as in:

いくつ[ikutsu] can also be used to ask about someone’s age, like you might use the question phrase 何歳[nan sai](how old). When using it this way, you can make the question more polite by adding the prefix お[o].

• いくつ[ikutsu] is more commonly used to ask a child how old they are.

  To a child:

  今、いくつなの？

  Ima, ikutsu na no?

  How old are you now?

• 何歳[nan sai] or おいくつ[oikutsu] are more commonly used for adults, with おいくつ[oikutsu] sounding a little more polite.

  To an adult:

  失礼ですが、今、おいくつですか。

  Shitsurei desu ga, ima, oikutsu desu ka?

  Excuse me, but how old are you now?

The question word いくら[ikura] is another way to say “how much.” You can use it to ask about quantity in general, but it’s most commonly used to as something’s price. You can add the prefix お[o] to make it polite.

When you use a question word followed by the particle か[ka], it creates an indefinite pronoun like “something” or “somewhere.” The table below summarizes the combinations of question words and か[ka].

Here are some examples.

Questions words followed by the particle も[mo], can be used to form indefinite pronouns either of the “every”-type (e.g. “everyone” or “everything”) or of the “not any”-type (e.g. “not anyone” or “nothing”).

• In a negative sentence, these words work like “not any-” indefinite words, indicating the 100% absence something:

  Question word + も[mo]	English
  何も nani mo	not anything, nothing
  誰も dare mo	not anybody, nobody
  どこも doko mo	not anywhere, nowhere
  どれも dore mo	not any of them, none of them
  どちらも dochira mo どっちも docchi mo	neither of them

• In an affirmative sentence, these words work like “every-” indefinite words, indicating 100% presence of something.

  Question word + も[mo]	English
  どこも doko mo	everywhere
  どれも dore mo	every one of them
  どちらも dochira mo どっちも docchi mo	both of them
  どの … も dono … mo	every one of…
  どんな don’na どういう dōiu どのような … も donoyōna … mo	any (kind of)...

When you use particles other than は[wa], が[ga], and を[o] after these expressions, they are inserted between the question word and も[mo], as in:

Let’s look at some examples of how to use these in sentences. Notice how whether the sentence is affirmative or negative impacts the meaning of the indefinite word.

Lastly, when you use a question word before でも[demo], it forms the “any”-type indefinite pronouns that you would use in an affirmative sentence, like “anything (you want)” or “(go) anywhere.”

Once again, notice that particles other than は[wa], が[ga], and を[o] are inserted between the question word and でも[demo], like:

Here are some examples in sentences.