だれ・なに・どこ・いつ・なぜ
dare, nani, doko, itsu, naze
The English phrase "who what where when why" is expressed in Japanese as だれ・なに・どこ・いつ・なぜ (dare, nani, doko, itsu, naze).
These are the basic question words used to gather essential facts about a situation.
What does it mean word for word?
The components of this phrase are だれ (who), なに (what), どこ (where), いつ (when) and なぜ (why).
Which one should you use?
For the word "what", the standard form is なに, though it often shortens to nan when used before certain sounds or in specific grammatical structures. For the word "why", there are several variations: なぜ is a more formal or literary option, while なんで and どうして are more common in conversational, informal speech.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
When asking "where", どこ is the informal word. For "why", なぜ is considered formal, whereas どうして and なんで are more common in informal, conversational contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
dare, nani, doko, itsu, naze
Did you know?
- The word どこ (where) is frequently used in a figurative sense to ask 'which part' of a specific object or body is being referred to. It does not always refer to a geographical location.
- The word for 'who', だれ, becomes どなた in polite settings, which changes the social tone entirely from a simple inquiry to a respectful question.
- Japanese allows for 'echo questions' where a speaker repeats the specific question word, such as どこ (where), with a rising intonation to signal disbelief or a request for clarification without repeating the whole sentence.
Examples in context
- 誰が一番好き？ (Dare ga ichiban suki?)Who do you like the most?
- 何が好きですか？ (Nani ga suki desu ka?)What do you like?
- 今日は何するの？ (Kyou wa nani suru no?)What are you going to do today?
- お住まいはどこですか？ (Osumai wa doko desu ka?)Where do you live?
- 明日のデート場所はどこがいい？ (Ashita no deito basho wa doko ga ii?)Where would be a good place for our date tomorrow?
- ミーティングはいつですか？ (Miitingu wa itsu desu ka?)When is the meeting?
- 明日のパーティーはいつ？ (Ashita no paatii wa itsu?)When is the party tomorrow?
- なぜ遅刻しましたか？ (Naze chikoku shimashita ka?)Why were you late?
- なんでそんなことができるの？ (Nande sonna koto ga dekiru no?)Why are you able to do such things?
Example conversation
Two students are planning a news report.
- 陽葵 Himariレポートのために、だれ・なに・どこ・いつ・なぜを確認してね。repooto no tame ni, dare, nani, doko, itsu, naze o kakunin shite ne.Check the who, what, where, when, and why for the report.
- 蓮 Renわかった。メモにまとめておくよ。wakatta. memo ni matomete oku yo.Got it. I'll summarize them in a note.
- 陽葵 Himariありがとう。蓮くん、お願いね。arigatou. ren-kun, onegai ne.Thanks. I'm counting on you, Ren.
- 蓮 Ren任せて。すぐに終わらせるよ。makasete. sugu ni owaraseru yo.Leave it to me. I'll finish it quickly.
