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JLPT N5Questions

Question Words(疑問詞)

The core interrogatives used to ask for missing information. Japanese word order does NOT invert for questions; the question word simply replaces the unknown noun and the sentence usually ends in か.

Grammar path · 練習

Practice this in the path

A short lesson: the pattern, its sentence anatomy, a quick quiz and a sentence to build.

Pro lessonUNIT 7 · QUESTIONS

Structure · 形

[Sentence with Question Word] + か？

Examples · 例文

  • それは何ですか？

    Sore wa nan desu ka?

    What is that?

    何 (what) is read なん before the t/d/n sounds (like です) and なに elsewhere.

  • 駅へはどう行けばいいですか？

    Eki e wa dou ikeba ii desu ka?

    How do I get to the station?

    どう (how) asks for the manner/route; 〜ばいいですか = "what is good to do / how should I ~".

  • なぜ彼が泣いているのか？

    Naze kare ga naite iru no ka?

    Why is he crying?

    なぜ (why) vs どうして (why): なぜ is slightly more direct/formal; どうして is everyday use.

Usage notes · 注意

  • Core Set: 何 (なに/なん) what, どこ where, いつ when, 誰 (だれ) who, なぜ/どうして why, どう how, どれ/どの which.
  • The "Everything" Formula: [Question word] + も + [Negative Verb] creates absolute negation — 誰も (no one), 何も (nothing), どこも (nowhere). Note いつも means "always" (positive) and is the exception.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones Question is tested against.

vs[Question word] + でも (positive)

誰でも/何でも with a POSITIVE verb means "anyone/anything". The same words with も + NEGATIVE (誰も/何も …ない) mean "no one/nothing".

vsどうして vs なぜ vs なんで

All mean "why": なぜ is formal/written, どうして is neutral-polite, なんで is casual/spoken.

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