Ask with か or a question word
Keep the sentence order in basic questions.
か at the end of a polite sentence makes a question: 学生ですか. Japanese does not need English do, does, or did to form this question, and the other words stay in the same order.
Question words usually appear where the answer belongs: 何を飲みますか, what will you drink? 誰 asks who, どこ where, and いつ when. 何 has readings including なに and なん, chosen by the expression.
Examples
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- がくせいgakuseistudent
- ですdesuam / is / are (polite)
- か。kaquestion markerMakes this a question. English may change its word order or add an auxiliary instead.
“You” is understood in this question; Japanese does not write a pronoun here.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- なにnaniwhat
- をoobject markerUsually pronounced o. Marks what the action affects; English often expresses this through word order.
- のみますnomimasudrink / will drink (polite)
- か。kaquestion markerMakes this a question. English may change its word order or add an auxiliary instead.
“You” is understood. English “will” is one possible interpretation of the Japanese nonpast form here.
How the words match
Tap a word in either language to see its partner. Some phrases work as a group; particles explain the grammar.
- えきekistation
- はwatopic markerPronounced wa. Marks what the following comment is about; it is not the word “is”.
- どこdokowhere
- ですdesuis (polite)
- か。kaquestion markerMakes this a question. English may change its word order or add an auxiliary instead.
Keep in mind
Japanese polite か can occur with a question word: 何ですか is a normal question.