Quiz :
demonstrative pronoun 5-3
Question Words
なん or なに
どれ or どちら
なにか? – なに
Grammar
Question Words
what? | なん・なに nan・nani |
who? | だれ dare |
when? | いつ itsu |
where? | どこ doko |
why? | どうして dōshite |
なん / なに
meaning : what ?
Both “なん” and “なに” means “what”.
Which one is used “なん” or “なに” tends to as follows.
なん + the words starting with ‘d・n・t’
これは なんですか?
kore [wa] nan-desuka?
( What is this? )
kore [wa] nan-desuka?
( What is this? )
きょうは なんのひ ですか?
kyō [wa] nan-no hi-desuka?
( What day is it today? )
kyō [wa] nan-no hi-desuka?
( What day is it today? )
なんと いいましたか?
nan-to ī-mashitaka?
( What did you say? )
nan-to ī-mashitaka?
( What did you say? )
‘なん’ means ‘How many ?’.
なんこ?
nan-ko ?
( How many pieces? )
nan-ko ?
( How many pieces? )
なんねん?
nan-nen ?
( How many years? )
nan-nen ?
( How many years? )
なんさい?
nan-sai?
( How old? )
nan-sai?
( How old? )
‘なに’ means ‘What kind of … ?’.
なにいろ?
nani-iro?
( What color? )
nani-iro?
( What color? )
なにあじ?
nani-aji ?
( What flavor? )
nani-aji ?
( What flavor? )
どれ / どちら
meaning : which ?
どれ : from 3 things or more
どれが たなかさんの かさ ですか?
dore [ga] tanaka-san [no] kasa-desuka?
( Which is yours, Ms.Tanaka? )
dore [ga] tanaka-san [no] kasa-desuka?
( Which is yours, Ms.Tanaka? )
* There are more than 3 umbrellas.
どちら : A or B ?
どちらが たなかさんの かさ ですか?
dochira [ga] tanaka-san [no] kasa-desuka?
( Which is yours, Ms.Tanaka? )
dochira [ga] tanaka-san [no] kasa-desuka?
( Which is yours, Ms.Tanaka? )
* There are 2 umbrellas.
なにか? – なにも
meaning : anything? – nothing
‘なにか?’ is used in a question sentence.
なにか のみますか?
nani-ka nomi-masuka?
( Would you like anything to drink? )
nani-ka nomi-masuka?
( Would you like anything to drink? )
‘なにも’ is used in a negative sentence.
なにも のみません。
nani-mo nomi-masen.
( I drink nothing? )
nani-mo nomi-masen.
( I drink nothing? )
Let’s say in Japanese !
What time is it now?
What’s the meaning of this Kanji?
A : What did you eat?
B : I ate a pizza.
A : Did you eat anything in this morning?
B : No, I ate nothing.

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