What does it mean word for word?
Word by word it is sore (that), wa (topic marker), nihongo (Japanese), de (in), nan (what), to (quotation particle), iimasu (say) and ka (question particle).
Which one should you use?
それを日本語でどう言いますか？ is another polite way to ask. 日本語ではどう言えばいいですか？ asks how you should say it. Replacing それ with これ, as in これは日本語で何と言いますか, asks about something you are holding or pointing at directly.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Among friends, the common informal version is それは日本語で何て言うの？
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle で (de) marks the language in which something is said, so 日本語で means in Japanese.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced sore wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.
When do people say it?
Casual alternatives among friends include 日本語で何って言うの？ and それ、日本語で何て言うの？ You can also say その日本語の言い方教えてよ, meaning teach me how to say it in Japanese.
Did you know?
- In Japan, people often avoid asking 何と言いますか directly and instead use a gesture like tilting the head or pointing while saying これは… to let the other person intuitively provide the translation.
- While the phrase uses 日本語 to refer to the language, a Japanese person might describe their own speech as 口語 ('spoken language') or 書き言葉 ('written language') because the two forms are so vastly different.
- The word 日本語 ('Japanese language') consists of 日本 ('Japan') and 語 ('language'). In Japanese, adding 語 to any country name creates the word for that language, such as 英語 for 'English'.
Examples in context
- ありがとうございますThank you
- おいしいDelicious
- パーティーParty
- それは日本語で何と言いますか。Sore wa Nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.How do you say that in Japanese?
Example conversation
A student is asking a classmate for help with a vocabulary word.
- 健太 Kentaすみません、それは日本語で何と言いますか。Sumimasen, sore wa Nihongo de nan to iimasu ka.Excuse me, how do you say that in Japanese?
- 美咲 Misaki「Apple」は「りんご」と言います。"Apple" wa "ringo" to iimasu."Apple" is said as "ringo".
- 健太 Kentaありがとうございます、美咲さん。Arigatou gozaimasu, Misaki-san.Thank you, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misakiいいえ、どういたしまして。Iie, dou itashimashite.No, you're welcome.
