Episode 4
Asking Your First Questions
Learn the question marker か and essential question words: how are you, are you okay, where, and what time.
In this episode, you'll learn the magic of か — the question marker that turns any statement into a question. Plus essential question words: where (どこ), what time (何時), and what (何).
What You'll Learn#
is ~? (question)
Add か to the end of any statement to make it a question. No word order change needed.
who, what, where, when
どこ (where), 何時 (what time), 何 (what) — placed where the answer would go in the sentence.
New vocabulary: ですか (question marker), 元気 (well/energetic), 大丈夫 (okay), どこ (where), 何時 (what time)
Lesson Transcript#
Review#
Quick review — can you do a full self-introduction? (はじめまして → name → よろしくお願いします)
The Question Marker か#
To turn any statement into a question, just add か at the end. です becomes ですか.
How are you?
Are you okay?
Question Words#
Where is the bathroom?
What time is it now?
What Is This?#
The word for "what" is 何 (なに), and "this" is これ. Before です, なに becomes なん:
これは何ですか。 — What is this?
Related Grammar#
- Greeting Expressions — Full guide to Japanese greetings
- 〜です (is/am/are) — Deep dive into the copula pattern
Practice these sentences
Build Japanese sentences and get AI-powered feedback on your pronunciation and grammar.
Start Practicing Free