Meaning
Asks about a person or thing.
Formation
- だれ for people, 何 for things
- Common readings: 何ですか — なん, 何を — なに, 何の — なん. The reading depends on the combination and the meaning, so learn these as whole phrases
- A question word subject takes が: だれが来ますか
When to use it
- Core use
- Asks about a person or thing
Examples
14 sentences-
あの人はだれですか
Who is that person?
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これは何ですか
What is this?
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入口で誰が待っていますか
Who is waiting at the entrance?
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箱の中に何がありますか
What is inside the box?
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玄関にいる人はだれですか
Who is the person at the entrance?
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朝ご飯に何を食べましたか
What did you eat for breakfast?
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だれがこの絵を描いたのですか
Who drew this picture?
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その箱の中は何ですか
What is inside that box?
6 more examples
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明日だれと会いますか
Who will you meet tomorrow?
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これは何の鍵ですか
What is this key for?
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この手紙はだれからですか
Who is this letter from?
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週末は何をしますか
What will you do at the weekend?
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だれに電話しましたか
Who did you call?
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この野菜は日本語で何といいますか
What is this vegetable called in Japanese?
Important notes
- だれ asks about people, 何 about things; the polite version of だれ is どなた. The reading of 何 depends on the combination: 何ですか (なん), 何を (なに), 何の (なん).
Common mistakes
- A question word that is the subject takes が, not は: だれが来ますか. The answer keeps が: 田中さんが来ます.
Check yourself
Pick the translation of each sentence. The wrong options translate similar patterns, so watch the grammar rather than the words.
Similar grammar
Hear it in podcasts
The pattern appears in these episodes. They open in the app with the transcript and translation.
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