誰・何・いつ
Who, what, and when
You’ll be able to ask who someone is, what something is, and when something happens.
お名前は何ですか。
o namae wa nan desu ka.
What do you think this sentence means?
What is your name?
Ask who, what, or when
誰 asks “who,” 何 asks “what,” and いつ asks “when.” Put the question word exactly where the answer would go. In the X は Y ですか frame you already know, that is the Y slot.
The frame does not change: keep は after the topic, and finish with か. A question word never moves to the front the way “who” and “what” do in English.
何 is read なに on its own, but it becomes なん directly before です and inside compounds such as 何曜日 (what day) and 何時 (what time).
先生は誰ですか。
sensei wa dare desu ka.
Who is the teacher?
テストはいつですか。
tesuto wa itsu desu ka.
When is the test?
In the X は Y ですか frame
Swap the question word into the slot the missing information would fill. Everything else about the sentence stays the same.
お仕事は何ですか。
o shigoto wa nan desu ka.
What do you do?
田中さんは誰ですか。
tanaka san wa dare desu ka.
Who is Tanaka?
休みはいつですか。
yasumi wa itsu desu ka.
When is your day off?
何 joined to a noun
何 also attaches directly to some nouns to ask which one: 何曜日 (what day), 何時 (what time). In these compounds it is read なん, not なに.
今日は何曜日ですか。
kyou wa nan'youbi desu ka.
What day is it today?
今、何時ですか。
ima, nanji desu ka.
What time is it now?
先生は誰ですか。
sensei wa dare desu ka.
Who is the teacher?
田中さんは誰ですか。
tanaka-san wa dare desu ka.
Who is Tanaka?
医者は誰ですか。
isha wa dare desu ka.
Who is the doctor?
12 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.