Japanese - Basic Questions

Lesson 25 of 168

A friendly café scene with two people asking questions in Japanese; visual shows sticky notes with question phrases: 何ですか, いつですか, 何時ですか.

Goal: Ask what, when, what time, requests, and how to say things

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Ready to zoom in on everyday questions? In this short lesson you'll listen, repeat, and practice some very useful polite question patterns. Have fun — ask away!

Level A1: In this lesson you will learn five core polite question frames: 「___は何ですか。」(___ wa nan desu ka.), 「___はいつですか。」(___ wa itsu desu ka.), 「___は何時ですか。」(___ wa nan-ji desu ka.), 「___てもらえますか。」(___te moraemasu ka.), and 「___はどう言いますか。」(___ wa dō iimasu ka.). These are great for asking identities, dates, clock times, simple requests, and how to say words. (CEFR-aligned)

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Practice five polite question frames for asking what (何ですか)、when (いつですか)、and what time (何時ですか).
  • Learn to make a simple request with ___てもらえますか。 and ask how to say a word with ___はどう言いますか。
  • Gain confidence listening and repeating these short patterns (Level A1).
Close-up of a notepad with the five Japanese question frames written, and a learner repeating them aloud; bright study setting.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

___は何ですか。

___ wa nan desu ka.

What is ___?

Meaning: What is ___?

When to use: Put the thing or word you want to know in the blank. Use the topic particle は after the word you ask about.

Tip: Beginner tip: don’t drop the particle は after the item. Saying 「これ何ですか」 is understandable but less polite.

これは何ですか。

Kore wa nan desu ka.

What is this?
この単語は何ですか。

Kono tango wa nan desu ka.

What is this word?

___はいつですか。

___ wa itsu desu ka.

When is ___?

Meaning: When is ___?

When to use: Put an event or plan in the blank (like a party, test, or meeting). Use は after the topic.

パーティーはいつですか。

Pātī wa itsu desu ka.

When is the party?
テストはいつですか。

Tesuto wa itsu desu ka.

When is the test?

___は何時ですか。

___ wa nan-ji desu ka.

What time is ___?

Meaning: What time is ___?

When to use: Use this to ask clock times (start time, meeting time). Put the event before は.

会議は何時ですか。

Kaigi wa nan-ji desu ka.

What time is the meeting?
映画は何時ですか。

Eiga wa nan-ji desu ka.

What time is the movie?

___てもらえますか。

___te moraemasu ka.

Can you ___?

Meaning: Can you ___?

When to use: Use for a polite request. Put a verb in its て-form before もらえますか (for example: 書いてもらえますか).

Tip: Tip: you must use the verb’s て-form (書いて, 開けて). Beginners sometimes try to put the plain form before もらえますか, which is incorrect.

窓を開けてもらえますか。

Mado o akete moraemasu ka.

Can you open the window?
これを書いてもらえますか。

Kore o kaite moraemasu ka.

Can you write this?

___はどう言いますか。

___ wa dō iimasu ka.

How do you say ___?

Meaning: How do you say ___?

When to use: Put the word or phrase whose wording you want to know in the blank. To ask for Japanese phrasing add 「日本語で」 after the blank.

「ありがとう」は英語でどう言いますか。

‘Arigatō’ wa Eigo de dō iimasu ka.

How do you say 'ありがとう' in English?
この単語は日本語でどう言いますか。

Kono tango wa Nihongo de dō iimasu ka.

How do you say this word in Japanese?

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna checks how to say 'meeting', then asks about the meeting day and time and requests a room.

Two colleagues (Anna and David) standing near a meeting board, using polite Japanese question phrases to check schedule and times.
Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

すみません、'meeting'は日本語でどう言いますか。

Sumimasen, 'meeting' wa Nihongo de dō iimasu ka.

Excuse me, how do you say 'meeting' in Japanese?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

「会議」と言います。

‘Kaigi’ to iimasu.

You say 'kaigi'.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

会議はいつですか。

Kaigi wa itsu desu ka.

When is the meeting?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

来週の金曜日です。

Raishū no kinyōbi desu.

It's next Friday.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

来週の金曜日は何時ですか。

Raishū no kinyōbi wa nan-ji desu ka.

What time on next Friday?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

午後三時です

Gogo san-ji desu.

At 3 PM.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

その時間に部屋を予約してもらえますか。

Sono jikan ni heya o yoyaku shite moraemasu ka.

Can you reserve a room for that time?

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

How do you ask 'What is that?' in polite Japanese?

Which phrase asks specifically for a clock time?

Which sentence uses the request pattern ___てもらえますか。?

How do you ask 'How do you say this in Japanese?'

You ask: '会議は何時ですか。' — 'What time is the meeting?'

友達に会議の時間を聞きます。『会議___』

You ask: 'コンサートはいつですか。' — 'When is the concert?'

コンサートの開催日を知りたいです。『コンサート___』

You say: 'これを書いてもらえますか。' — 'Can you write this (for me)?'

先生にこの文を書いてほしい。『これを___』

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は何ですか。

___ wa nan desu ka.

What is ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はいつですか。

___ wa itsu desu ka.

When is ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___は何時ですか。

___ wa nan-ji desu ka.

What time is ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___てもらえますか。

___te moraemasu ka.

Can you ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

___はどう言いますか。

___ wa dō iimasu ka.

How do you say ___?