何・だれ・いつ・どこ・どう – Basic Question Words in Japanese [JLPT N5]

Quick Summary

• Meaning: These are basic Japanese “wh-words” like “what, who, when, where, how, why, how much, how many.”
• How to Use: Put them where the missing information is in the sentence, and add か to make a question.

Example:

• そのロボットは何を食べますか。
• Sono robotto wa nani o tabemasu ka.
• What does that robot eat?

Overview

In English, you already know “who, what, when, where, why, how, how much, how many.” In Japanese, we have a similar friendly group of words:

• 何（なに／なん） – what
• だれ – who
• いつ – when
• どこ – where
• どう – how
• どうして – why
• いくら – how much (money / price)
• いくつ – how many / how old (for small numbers)

These words are used when you don’t know some information and you want to ask about it. They replace the unknown part of the sentence.

• 何 – replaces a thing.
• だれ – replaces a person.
• いつ – replaces a time.
• どこ – replaces a place.
• どう – asks about a way / method / condition.
• どうして – asks about a reason.
• いくら – asks about a price / cost.
• いくつ – asks about a number of items or sometimes a child’s age.

To make a clear question in polite Japanese, you usually add the particle か at the end:

• 何ですか。
• Nan desu ka.
• What is it?

These wh-words are very flexible. You can put them:

• at the beginning of a sentence
• in the middle before a particle (like を, に, で)
• sometimes near the end in short questions

Because they are so common, you’ll hear them in anime, dramas, and daily conversations all the time. Once you are comfortable with these, you can start making many different questions in Japanese, even with very simple vocabulary.

Structure / Formation

Here we will look at how to place each wh-word in a basic Japanese sentence. Focus on the patterns, and you can swap in new verbs and nouns later.

Basic Question Pattern with Wh-words

• Wh-word + (particle) + sentence + か。

The wh-word takes the same particle a normal word would use in that position. Think of it as “replacing” a noun, place, or time.

Role	Wh-word	Example Pattern	English Meaning
Thing	何（なに／なん）	何を + V-ますか。	What do you (V)?
Person	だれ	だれが + V-ますか。	Who (V)?
Time	いつ	いつ + V-ますか。	When do you (V)?
Place	どこ	どこで + V-ますか。	Where do you (V)?
How (way / condition)	どう	どう + V-ますか。	How do you (V)?
Why (reason)	どうして	どうして + Clause + か。	Why (…)?
Price / cost	いくら	～はいくらですか。	How much is ～?
Number / count	いくつ	～をいくつ + V-ますか。	How many ～ (do you V)?

何（なに／なん） – “What”

何 asks about things or actions.

• 何 + を + V-ますか。 – What do you (V)?
• 何ですか。 – What is it?

Use the reading なに (nani) by default. It often becomes なん (nan) before です (desu, to be), だ (da, to be, casual), or certain counters or sounds.

• 何ですか。
  Nan desu ka.
  What is it?

But at N5 level, it’s okay to just remember:

• 何ですか。 → なん
• 何を + verb → なに

Example:

• 宇宙人は何のゲームをしますか。
• Uchuujin wa nani no geemu o shimasu ka.
• What games do aliens play?

だれ – “Who”

だれ asks about a person. It can take the subject marker が, or other particles like に or と, like a normal noun.

• だれが + V-ますか。 – Who (does)…?
• だれと + V-ますか。 – With whom do you…?

Example:

• 今日、うちでだれがダンスパーティーをしますか。
• Kyou, uchi de dare ga dansu paatii o shimasu ka.
• Who is having a dance party at home today?

いつ – “When”

いつ asks about time. It doesn’t need a particle, but you can add に if you like (both are fine in basic conversation).

• いつ + V-ますか。 – When do you (V)?

Example:

• おじいさんはいつゲーム実況をしますか。
• Ojiisan wa itsu geemu jikkyou o shimasu ka.
• When does Grandpa do game streaming?

どこ – “Where”

どこ asks about a place. Use it with the same particles as place words:

• どこで + V-ますか。 – Where (at) do you (V)?
• どこに + V-ますか。 – Where (to / at) do you (V)?

Example:

• 先生はどこで空手を習いますか。
• Sensei wa doko de karate o naraimasu ka.
• Where does the teacher learn karate?

どう – “How”

どう asks about the way, condition, or state of something.

• どう + V-ますか。 – How do you (V)?
• ～はどうですか。 – How is ～? / What about ～?

Example:

• あなたのロボットはどう日本語を勉強しますか。
• Anata no robotto wa dou Nihongo o benkyou shimasu ka.
• How does your robot study Japanese?

どうして – “Why”

どうして asks about the reason for something. It usually comes at the start of the sentence.

• どうして + Clause + か。 – Why (…)?

Example:

• どうして猫はニュースを読みますか。
• Doushite neko wa nyuusu o yomimasu ka.
• Why does the cat read the news?

いくら – “How much (money)”

いくら is used for prices and money, not for counting items.

• ～はいくらですか。 – How much is ～?

Example:

• その空飛ぶじゅうたんはいくらですか。
• Sono soratobu juutan wa ikura desu ka.
• How much is that flying carpet?

いくつ – “How many / How old (for children)”

いくつ counts how many items (usually small and countable) or asks a small child’s age. At N5 level, focus on the “how many” meaning.

• ～をいくつ + V-ますか。 – How many ～ do you (V)?

Example:

• 朝、あなたはパンケーキをいくつ食べますか。
• Asa, anata wa pankeeki o ikutsu tabemasu ka.
• How many pancakes do you eat in the morning?

Summary of Core Patterns

• 何を + V-ますか。 – What do you (V)?
• だれが + V-ますか。 – Who (V)?
• いつ + V-ますか。 – When do you (V)?
• どこで + V-ますか。 – Where do you (V)?
• どう + V-ますか。 – How do you (V)?
• どうして + Clause + か。 – Why (…)?
• ～はいくらですか。 – How much is ～?
• ～をいくつ + V-ますか。 – How many ～ do you (V)?

If you can remember these simple formulas and swap in different verbs (V-ます) and nouns (N), you can already ask many fun and useful questions in Japanese.

Example Sentences

• あの宇宙人は何を食べますか。
• Ano uchuujin wa nani o tabemasu ka.
• What does that alien eat?

• だれが毎晩ベランダでカラオケをしますか。
• Dare ga maiban beranda de karaoke o shimasu ka.
• Who sings karaoke on the balcony every night?

• あなたのドラゴンはいつお風呂に入りますか。
• Anata no doragon wa itsu ofuro ni hairimasu ka.
• When does your dragon take a bath?

• どうしてロボットは学校でねこ語を勉強しますか。
• Doushite robotto wa gakkou de nekogo o benkyou shimasu ka.
• Why does the robot study “cat language” at school?

• その魔法のクッキーをいくつ買いますか。１まいいくらですか。
• Sono mahou no kukkii o ikutsu kaimasu ka. Ichi mai ikura desu ka.
• How many magic cookies will you buy? How much is one?

Quick Practice

(Answers and explanations are right under this section.)

Multiple-Choice

1. Choose the best question: “What does that ninja drink in the morning?”

• A. あのニンジャは朝、何を飲みますか。(Ano ninja wa asa, nani o nomimasu ka.)
• B. あのニンジャは朝、どこを飲みますか。(Ano ninja wa asa, doko o nomimasu ka.)
• C. あのニンジャは朝、いつを飲みますか。(Ano ninja wa asa, itsu o nomimasu ka.)
• D. あのニンジャは朝、何でも飲みますか。(Ano ninja wa asa, nan demo nomimasu ka.)

2. Choose the correct sentence using “who” as the subject: “Who is singing karaoke on the roof?”

• A. だれを屋上でカラオケをしますか。(Dare o okujou de karaoke o shimasu ka.)
• B. だれが屋上でカラオケをしますか。(Dare ga okujou de karaoke o shimasu ka.)
• C. だれは屋上でカラオケですか。(Dare wa okujou de karaoke desu ka.)
• D. だれや屋上でカラオケをしますか。(Dare ya okujou de karaoke o shimasu ka.)

3. Choose the best question: “When does your robot do homework?”

• A. あなたのロボットはいつ宿題をしますか。(Anata no robotto wa itsu shukudai o shimasu ka.)
• B. あなたのロボットはどこ宿題をしますか。(Anata no robotto wa doko shukudai o shimasu ka.)
• C. あなたのロボットはいくら宿題をしますか。(Anata no robotto wa ikura shukudai o shimasu ka.)
• D. あなたのロボットはどうして宿題をしますか。(Anata no robotto wa doushite shukudai o shimasu ka.)

4. Choose the correct sentence to ask the price: “How much is that tiny spaceship?”

• A. あの小さい宇宙船はいくつですか。(Ano chiisai uchuusen wa ikutsu desu ka.)
• B. あの小さい宇宙船はいくらですか。(Ano chiisai uchuusen wa ikura desu ka.)
• C. あの小さい宇宙船はどうですか。(Ano chiisai uchuusen wa dou desu ka.)
• D. あの小さい宇宙船はいつですか。(Ano chiisai uchuusen wa itsu desu ka.)

5. Choose the best question: “How many magic cups will you buy?”

• A. 魔法のコップをいくら買いますか。(Mahou no koppu o ikura kaimasu ka.)
• B. 魔法のコップはいくつですか。(Mahou no koppu wa ikutsu desu ka.)
• C. 魔法のコップをいくつ買いますか。(Mahou no koppu o ikutsu kaimasu ka.)
• D. 魔法のコップをどうして買いますか。(Mahou no koppu o doushite kaimasu ka.)

Spot-the-Error

6. One sentence has an incorrect wh-word. Which one is wrong?

• A. 先生はどこでピアノをれんしゅうしますか。(Sensei wa doko de piano o renshuu shimasu ka.)
• B. あなたのドラゴンはいくら学校へ行きますか。(Anata no doragon wa ikura gakkou e ikimasu ka.)
• C. おじいさんはいつアニメを見ますか。(Ojiisan wa itsu anime o mimasu ka.)

7. One sentence has a wrong particle with the wh-word. Which one is wrong?

• A. きょう、だれが図書館でゲームをしますか。(Kyou, dare ga toshokan de geemu o shimasu ka.)
• B. ねこはどこにねますか。(Neko wa doko ni nemasu ka.)
• C. 何がコーヒーを飲みますか。(Nani ga koohii o nomimasu ka.)

Translation

8. Translate into Japanese using どうして: “Why does your cat dance in the kitchen?”

9. Translate into Japanese using どう: “How do you study Japanese every night?”

10. Translate into Japanese using どこで: “Where do aliens eat ramen?”

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Answers and Explanations

1. あのニンジャは朝、何を飲みますか。(Ano ninja wa asa, nani o nomimasu ka.) – We ask about a “thing” that he drinks, so 何 with を is correct.
2. だれが屋上でカラオケをしますか。(Dare ga okujou de karaoke o shimasu ka.) – だれ is the subject, so it naturally takes が here.
3. あなたのロボットはいつ宿題をしますか。(Anata no robotto wa itsu shukudai o shimasu ka.) – いつ asks about time, “When does (it) do homework?”.
4. あの小さい宇宙船はいくらですか。(Ano chiisai uchuusen wa ikura desu ka.) – いくら is used to ask about price or cost.
5. 魔法のコップをいくつ買いますか。(Mahou no koppu o ikutsu kaimasu ka.) – いくつ asks “how many” items you will buy, so it matches コップ.
6. あなたのドラゴンはいくら学校へ行きますか。(Anata no doragon wa ikura gakkou e ikimasu ka.) – いくら is for money, but “going to school” needs いつ or どのぐらい, so this use of いくら is incorrect.
7. 何がコーヒーを飲みますか。(Nani ga koohii o nomimasu ka.) – For “who drinks coffee?” we should use だれが, not 何が, so the particle use with the wh-word is wrong for the intended meaning.
8. どうしてあなたのねこは台所でダンスをしますか。(Doushite anata no neko wa daidokoro de dansu o shimasu ka.) – どうして at the start asks for the reason “why” the cat dances.
9. あなたは毎晩どう日本語を勉強しますか。(Anata wa maiban dou Nihongo o benkyou shimasu ka.) – どう asks about the method or way you study Japanese.
10. 宇宙人はどこでラーメンを食べますか。(Uchuujin wa doko de raamen o tabemasu ka.) – どこで with で asks at what place the aliens eat ramen.