Dare ga suki desuka?
“nani” and “dare”
In this lesson, you learn about “what” and “who.” “What” is “nani”, and “who” is “dare”. These are simply nouns.
“nanno” and “dareno”
“Nani” is a noun, and when it connects to other nouns, it changes to “nanno,” meaning “what kind of.” “Dareno” means “whose.”
nanno hon (what kind of book)
nanno ongaku (what kind of music)
nanno bangumi (what kind of program)
dareno hon (whose book)
dareno keetai (whose phone)
“Nanijin” (meaning “what nationality”) is an exception, as well as “nanigo” (meaning “what language”), because the words following “nani” are of foreign origin.
“naniga” and “darega”
“nani” and “dare” are interrogative words, so they cannot become signboards. You cannot explain things or people that are not clear. This means that “what” or “who” do not have details to explain.
Therefore, “wa” cannot be used after “nani” and “dare”. This means that when these words become subjects, they should be used with “ga” like “naniga” and “darega”. “ga” is the particle that expresses the subject and depicts the scene.
“nandesuka” and “daredesuka”
When “nani” is an object and used with “desuka”, it becomes “nandesuka”.
“What is this?” is “Kore wa nandesuka?”.
“Who is that?” is “Are wa daredesuka?”.
Words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kaisha | company |
| nettoshoppingu | net shopping |
| shouhin | goods, products |
| fittonesu | fitness |
| ninki | popular: noun-adjective |
| kutsu | shoes |
| shatsu | shirt |
Expressions
Justin says:
Suzukisan no kaisha wa nanno kaisha desuka?
Suzuki says:
Nettoshoppingu no kaisha desu.
Justin says:
Shouhin wa nandesuka?
Suzuki says:
Fittonesu no shouhin desu.
Justin says:
Naniga ninki desuka?
Suzuki says:
Kutsu to shatsu desu.
Exercise
Questions
Translate into Japanese
- What is small? *small = chiisai
- Who is cute? *cute = kawaii
- Whose bag is big? *bag = baggu, big = ookii
- Who is it?
- What is it?
Answers
- Naniga chiisai desuka?
- Darega kawaii desuka?
- Dareno bagguga ookii desuka?
- Dare desuka?
- Nandesuka?