Part II: Question Words I
As I've mentioned earlier in this lesson, there are several question words that the Japanese use on a daily basis. These are:
何／なに；なん／nani; nan — Nani is used generally to ask "what". It's typically shortened to なん inside of most sentences, but there may be some that you come across that use なに. We've already seen plenty of examples of this in the previous lesson, so no examples are needed here.
どちら／dochira／どこ／doko — どちら and どこ are both used to ask "where". The difference between them is that どちら is used in a more polite context (i.e. with people that you don't know or want to show respect).
Ex. ぎんこうはどこですか。
(Ginkou wa doko desu ka.)
Where is the bank?
クールさんはどちらですか。
(Kuuru-san wa dochira desu ka.)
Where is Cool-san?
You can also use どちら to ask someone where they are from.
Ex. スパイキくんはどちらからですか。
(Supaiki-kun ha dochira kara desu ka.)
Where is Spikey-kun from?
どの／dono／どれ／dore — As explained before, どの and どれ are used to ask "which". However, with these two, you cannot use the particle は to mark the subject: you must use the particle が.
Ex. どのたてものがゆうびんきょくですか。
(Dono tatemono ga yuubinkyoku desu ka.)
Which building is the post office?
One thing to keep in mind is that when you are referring to people and locations, always use どの and the appropriate noun.
Ex. クールさんはどのひとですか。
(Kuuru-san wa dono hito desu ka.)
Which person is Cool-san?
どなた／donata／だれ／dare — だれ and どなた are both used to ask "who". Like with どちら, どなた is used in a more formal context (like with people you don't know). To ask whose property something is, use だれ + の.
Ex. それはだれのペンですか。
(Sore wa dare no pen desu ka.)
Whose pen is that?
There are other questions words that we'll cover in later lessons. For the moment, let's learn about a new particle and how to negate a sentence.
