5.2 Questions with か (ka)

The question particle

Add か (ka) to the end of a statement to make a question — word order does NOT change: 学生です → 学生ですか (Are you a student?).

Question words

何 (nani/nan) = what, 誰 (dare) = who, どこ (doko) = where, いつ (itsu) = when, なぜ / どうして (naze / dōshite) = why, どう (dō) = how.

Answering

Answer with はい (hai) = yes or いいえ (iie) = no. The question word stays in the position of the missing information: どこへ行きますか (Where do you go?).

Key terms

か (ka)

question particle (added at the end)

何 / 誰

nani·nan / dare — what / who

どこ / いつ

doko / itsu — where / when

どうして / どう

dōshite / dō — why / how

はい / いいえ

hai / iie — yes / no

Try an AP-style question

Adding か to the end of a sentence…

1. makes it negative
2. makes it polite
3. turns it into a question
4. makes it past