6. Question Words
By mastering these question words, your conversational skills will be much stronger!
いつ (itsu) - when
いつ きました か？
- itsu kimashita ka?
- When did you come? [literally "when came?" Notice the "you" is understood.]
どこ (doko) - where
どこ から きました か？
- doko kara kimashita ka?
- Where did you come from? [literally "where from came?"]
どうして (doushite) - why
どうして きました か？
- doushite kimashita ka?
- Why did you come? [literally "why came?"]
なぜ (naze) - why
なぜ
- naze?
- Why? [used in the same way as doushite]
だれ (dare) - who
だれが きました か。
- dare ga kimashita ka?
- Who came?
何 (nani) - what
なに を 買いました か。
- nani o kaimashita ka.
- What did you buy?
You can do a lot more with 何, see here.
Main points
- Even with the question word a か ka is used. (Except in casual spoken Japanese.)
- The question word is at the beginning, but after the は wa if there is one.
あなた は だれ です か？
- anata wa dare desu ka?
- Who are you? (the question word dare is after the wa)
For more on this please see our "Questions and Question Words" guide.
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Difference between 'naze' and 'doushite'
'naze' is the formal version. 'doushite' is the informal version. Both mean 'why?'
なぜなら、おまえは・・・・・・人形だ
naze and doushite
Naze and doushite, are basically the same... Naze is used more frequently though as Doushite usually means what's wrong? When used alone.
How?
So what is How?
Please see this page
Please see this page http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chapter_four/how_dou
Attempting basic grammar
わたしはねことたこすきです
なにすきですか
sentences
なに Is fine here, I think なん Would sound weird in your sentence. you could add が to both sentences like so:
わたしはねことたこ が すきです。 なに が すきですか。
It is ok to leave them out, but understand you are abbreviating, which sounds more casual, and maybe a little cute/cool. Stylistic points: since you changed the subject it wouldn't hurt to add あなたは. And maybe its just me, but it sounds a little weird to say you like cats and octopus... do you like them both as pets or do you like to eat both of them? ;)
なに
Shouldn't it be 'nan' in the example you've given? I thought that was the form it took in a sentence.
Re: なに
Technically all speech should be within "sentences" so to change the end of the word simply because it's being "used" doesn't make a whole lot of sene, since that would be the actual word!
何 is pronounced either なん or なに depending on the usage.
何か なにか
何で 何で can be read なにで if you're asking by what, and なんで if you're asking why.
There are many more examples, and it's just a matter of memorizing when to use each form.
http://korynthius.blogspot.com One man's Quest for Japanese Fluency
I though when 何 was with Desu
I though when 何 was with Desu it can only be pronounced as Nan. I mean 何で pronounced as Nanidesu doesn't even sound right.
It is always pronounced なんです
It is always pronounced なんです when it's followed by です. You can say both 何で（なにで） and 何で（なんで） though. They have different meanings. I usually write なんで in hiragana to avoid confusion, but writing it with kanji technically isn't wrong.
ok thanks, I'll have to get
ok thanks, I'll have to get used to that one.
The best answer I can give
The best answer I can give for now is that it depends on how it's being used.
I'm hoping that someone can give a better explanation of how the usage differs based on the grammar etc... but I don't know enough to give a better answer than that for now. :(
猿も木から落ちる
どうしてvs。なぜ
Are there any situations in which naze is specifically used over doushite?
Naze, nande, doushite
I was wondering too, what's the difference between "why" words?
well..
as far as i know, naze is used when you want to ask something specific like 'why are you here?' (naze koko ni?) and doushite is used independently in reciprocal conversation, when the topic is known for both subjects. like 'i want to go home' and the other will ask with 'doushite?' rather than 'naze kaeritai?'
correct me if i'm wrong