これは何と言いますか
kore wa nan to iimasu ka
In Japanese, "how to say this" is said as これは何と言いますか (kore wa nan to iimasu ka).
This phrase is a question used to ask for the name or word for something in another language.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase can be broken down as follows: これ (kore) means "this" (referring to an object near the speaker), は (wa) is a particle that marks "this" as the topic of the sentence, 何 (nan) means "what", と言います (to iimasu) means "is called" or "says" and か (ka) is a question particle that turns the statement into a question.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more casual and informal way to ask the same question, you can use これ、なんて言うの？
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle は marks これ as the topic, while the particle か at the very end of the sentence functions to turn the entire statement into a question.
How do you pronounce it?
kore wa nan to iimasu ka
Did you know?
- If you use this phrase while pointing at a person, you are not asking for their name, but rather asking what that person is called or classified as, which can sound quite dehumanizing.
- The word これ (kore) is part of a three-word system called 'kosoado' that changes based on the distance between the speaker and the listener, meaning you must switch to それ (sore) if the object is closer to the person you are asking.
- The question particle か (ka) at the end of the sentence acts like a verbal question mark, meaning Japanese writers can technically omit the actual punctuation mark if か is present.
Examples in context
- これを日本語でどのように言いますか？How do you say this in Japanese?
- この単語の日本語での表現は何ですか？What is the Japanese expression for this word?
- このフレーズは日本語でどう表現しますか？How do you express this phrase in Japanese?
- これって日本語でなんて言うの？What do you say in Japanese for this?
- これは何と言いますか。Kore wa nan to iimasu ka.How do you say this?
- 英語で、これは何と言いますか。Eigo de, kore wa nan to iimasu ka.In English, how do you say this?
Example conversation
Yui is asking Ren for help with an English word.
- 結衣 Yui蓮さん、これは何と言いますか。Ren-san, kore wa nan to iimasu ka.Ren, how do you say this?
- 蓮 Renそれは 'apple' と言いますよ。Sore wa 'apple' to iimasu yo.You say that is 'apple'.
- 結衣 Yuiなるほど、わかりました。Naruhodo, wakarimashita.I see, I understand.
- 蓮 Ren英語の勉強、頑張っていますね。Eigo no benkyou, ganbatte imasu ne.You are working hard on your English studies.
