Once you've learned basic sentence patterns, the next step is learning to ask questions. Japanese has a series of question words starting with ど, similar to English "wh-" words. This article covers the three most common ones — どう, どんな, and どこ — plus an overview of the entire ど-family.
どう: Asking About States and Feelings — "How is it?"
どう asks about the state or impression of something. It usually goes in the predicate position, followed by ですか:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 会社はどうですか。 | How's work? |
| 日本語の勉強はどうですか。 | How's your Japanese study going? |
| 昨日の映画はどうでしたか。 | How was yesterday's movie? |
Answer with adjectives:
Q: 仕事はどうですか。 How's work? A: とても忙しいです。 Very busy.
Q: 日本はどうですか。 How's Japan? A: きれいで、とても楽しいです。 It's beautiful and really fun.
どうですか vs 何ですか
Don't mix up どう (how) and 何 (what):
| Question word | Asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|
| どう | State, impression | 仕事はどうですか。(How is work?) |
| 何 | Specific content | 仕事は何ですか。(What is your job?) |
どんな + Noun: Asking About Kind or Nature — "What kind of?"
どんな is always followed by a noun, asking "what kind of X":
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| どんな映画ですか。 | What kind of movie is it? |
| どんな音楽が好きですか。 | What kind of music do you like? |
| どんな人ですか。 | What kind of person are they? |
Answer with adjectives or specific descriptions:
Q: どんな映画ですか。 What kind of movie is it? A: 面白い映画です。 It's an interesting movie.
Q: どんな人ですか。 What kind of person are they? A: 親切な人です。 They're a kind person.
どう vs どんな: What's the Difference?
| どう | どんな | |
|---|---|---|
| What follows | Directly followed by ですか | Followed by a noun |
| Asks about | Overall impression | Specific nature or type |
| Example | 会社はどうですか | どんな会社ですか |
Both can ask about a company:
- 会社はどうですか → How's the company? (asking for your impression)
- どんな会社ですか → What kind of company is it? (asking about its nature: size, industry, etc.)
どこ: Asking About Places — "Where?"
どこ asks about location. Different particles change the nuance:
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| どこ + ですか | Where is it | トイレはどこですか。 |
| どこ + へ/に | Where to (destination) | どこへ行きますか。 |
| どこ + で | Where (doing something) | どこで会いますか。 |
| どこ + から | Where from | どこから来ましたか。 |
Q: どこで昼ごはんを食べますか。 Where do you eat lunch? A: 食堂で食べます。 I eat at the cafeteria.
Q: どこへ行きますか。 Where are you going? A: 図書館へ行きます。 I'm going to the library.
The Full ど-Family
Japanese question words form a neat system. ど-words correspond to the こ/そ/あ series:
| Question (ど) | Near (こ) | Mid (そ) | Far (あ) | Asks about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| どこ | ここ | そこ | あそこ | Place |
| どれ | これ | それ | あれ | Thing (choosing from 3+) |
| どの | この | その | あの | Which + noun |
| どう | こう | そう | ああ | State / manner |
| どんな | こんな | そんな | あんな | What kind of + noun |
Memory tip: ど = question. Any word starting with ど is asking something.
Other Common Question Words
Beyond the ど-family, N5 also uses these:
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 何 | なに/なん | What | 何を食べますか。 What will you eat? |
| 誰 | だれ | Who | 誰が来ますか。 Who's coming? |
| いつ | いつ | When | いつ行きますか。 When are you going? |
| いくら | いくら | How much (price) | いくらですか。 How much is it? |
| いくつ | いくつ | How many / How old | いくつですか。 How old are you? |
Summary
- どう = how is it (impression) — followed directly by ですか
- どんな = what kind of (nature) — always followed by a noun
- どこ = where (place) — different particles express different relationships
- The ど-series corresponds perfectly with こ/そ/あ
- Question words go in the same position as the answer would — just like in English "you go WHERE?" → "I go THERE"
Self-Check
Q1. Ask "What kind of music do you like?" in Japanese.
Show answer
どんな音楽が好きですか。
どんな is followed by the noun 音楽, and が marks the object of 好き (like).
Q2. What's the difference between "仕事はどうですか" and "どんな仕事ですか"?
Show answer
仕事はどうですか = How's work? — asking for your impression or feeling about it.
どんな仕事ですか = What kind of work is it? — asking about the nature or type of the job.
どう asks about impression; どんな asks about nature.
Q3. Fill in the blank: 「＿＿＿昼ごはんを食べますか。」(Where do you eat lunch?)
Show answer
どこで昼ごはんを食べますか。
To ask "where you do something," use どこで. The particle で marks the place where an action happens.