In the last lesson, you learned how to ask a yes-or-no question by adding か (ka).
これはラーメンですか？
Kore wa ramen desu ka?
Is this ramen?
But what if you don’t know what something is?
Let’s learn how to ask:
“What is this?”
What Is This?
Imagine you see this food in Japan, but you don’t know what it is.
You can ask:
これは何ですか。
Kore wa nan desu ka?
What is this?
And the answer might be:
これはたこ焼きです。
Kore wa takoyaki desu.
This is takoyaki.
That’s our new pattern:
これは何ですか。
What is this?
↓
これは〇〇です。
This is 〇〇.
Let’s Break It Down
これ = this
は = topic marker
何（なん） = what
です = polite ending
か = question marker
Put it together:
これ + は + 何 + です + か
これは何ですか。
What is this?
何: なに or なん?
You may have learned that 何 means “what” and is read なに (nani).
So why do we say:
なんですか (nan desu ka)?
何 can be pronounced なに (nani) or なん (nan) depending on what comes after it.
Before です, we normally say:
なんですか
So for now, remember this as one useful phrase:
これは何ですか。
Kore wa nan desu ka?
What is this?
You’ll learn more about なに vs. なん later.
Now Answer the Question
Someone asks:
これは何ですか。
What is this?
You can answer:
これはたこ焼きです。
This is takoyaki.
Notice something?
You already know this sentence pattern from Lesson 2:
A は B です。
We’re just replacing B with 何 to ask what B is.
これはたこ焼きです。
This is takoyaki.
↓
これは何ですか。
What is this?
Moto’s Tip
Don’t try to memorize every Japanese question word at once.
Start with one question you can actually use:
これは何ですか。
When you’re in Japan and see a food, object, or something you don’t recognize, this is an incredibly useful question.
Point to it and ask:
これは何ですか。
Now you’re using Japanese in real life.
Try It Yourself
Imagine you see something you don’t recognize.
How would you ask:
What is this?
これは＿＿＿＿ですか。
Answer:
これは何ですか。
Now imagine the answer is sushi:
これは すし です。
This is sushi.
Or coffee:
これは コーヒー です。
This is coffee.
Or takoyaki:
これは たこ焼き です。
This is takoyaki.
What to Remember
To ask “What is this?”
これは何ですか。
Kore wa nan desu ka?
To answer:
これは〇〇です。
Kore wa 〇〇 desu.
That’s it.
You can now ask what something is — and understand the basic structure of the answer.
← Previous: How to Ask Questions in Japanese: ですか
Next → Using の in Japanese: Connecting Nouns