How to Say ‘Where did you buy it?’ in Japanese
どこで買いましたか？
doko de kai mashi ta ka
[doko de KAH-ee mah-shee tah kah]
💬 Usage Tip: で marks where an action happens, so swap the question word for a place: 渋谷で買いました "I bought it in Shibuya."
Phrase Breakdown
どこで
doko de
where (at what place)
どこ means 'where', and で marks the place where an action happens.
どこで食べますか？
Where will you eat?
Words in this phrase
どこ
doko
[doko]
where
A question word asking about a place or location.
どこに行きますか？
Where are you going?
で
de
[de]
at
Indicates the location of an action.
家で食事する。
Eat at home.
買いましたか？
kai mashi ta ka
did you buy (it)?
The polite past question form of 買う (to buy). Say 'kai-ma-shi-ta-ka', with the 'i' in 'shi' soft.
何を買いましたか？
What did you buy?
Words in this phrase
買い
kai
[KAH-ee]
buy
Stem of the verb 買う (to buy), used before polite endings.
パンを買います。
I buy bread.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past stem
Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.
昨日は多くのことを学びました。
I learned many things yesterday.
た
ta
[tah]
past tense ending
This ending completes the polite past tense form.
空席がございまし た。
There were vacant seats.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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