彼女はどこですか？
kanojo wa doko desu ka?
To say "where is she?" in Japanese, use 彼女はどこですか？ (kanojo wa doko desu ka?)
This phrase is used to ask about the current location of a female person. Note that depending on the context, the word 彼女 can mean either "she" or "girlfriend".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase contains the word どこ, which means "where".
Which one should you use?
The phrase 彼女はどこ？ is a shortened, informal version of the question. You can make the phrase informal by dropping the ですか and using a rising intonation.
How do you pronounce it?
kanojo wa doko desu ka?
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be aware that 彼女 can mean "girlfriend" as well as "she" depending on the context of your conversation.
Did you know?
- Using 彼女 to mean 'she' is a relatively modern development influenced by Western languages. In traditional Japanese, it was far more common to use the person's name or a title.
- The word どこ can be expanded to どちら to make the question more polite. While both mean 'where', どちら literally means 'which direction'.
- While 彼女 means 'she' or 'girlfriend', the word for 'boyfriend' is 彼, which simply means 'he'.
Examples in context
- 彼女はどこですか？kanojo wa doko desu ka?Where is she?
- すみません、彼女はどこですか？sumimasen, kanojo wa doko desu ka?Excuse me, where is she?
Example conversation
Ren is looking for a female colleague in the office.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵さん、彼女はどこですか？Himari-san, kanojo wa doko desu ka?Himari, where is she?
- 陽葵 Himari会議室にいますよ。Kaigishitsu ni imasu yo.She is in the meeting room.
- 蓮 Renわかりました。ありがとうございます。Wakarimashita. Arigatou gozaimasu.I understand. Thank you.
- 陽葵 Himariどういたしまして。Dou itashimashite.You are welcome.
