beginner

〜は〜ですか

Learn how to ask questions in Japanese using the question particle か, and practice answering them.

In Japanese, asking questions is remarkably simple. You do not need to change the word order. Instead, you simply add the question particle か (pronounced ka) at the end of the sentence and add a question mark:

これは本ですか？

Is this a book?

To ask "What is X?", you replace the noun with 何 (nan / nani) followed by ですか:

あれは何ですか？

What is that?

Practice

Follow along with these examples to strengthen your understanding.

Stage 1

これは何ですか？

What is this?

これは本です。

This is a book.

Stage 2

それは何ですか？

What is that?

それは傘です。

That is an umbrella.

Stage 3

あなたは学生ですか？

Are you a student?

はい、そうです。

Yes, I am.

Stage 4

あなたは先生ですか？

Are you a teacher?

いいえ、違います。

No, I am not.

Stage 5

これは本ですか？

Is this a book?

はい、そうです。

Yes, it is.

Stage 6

それは本ですか？

Is that a book?

いいえ、違います。

No, it is not.

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