How to Say ‘(question ending) / Is it...?’ in Japanese
ですか
desu ka
[dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [ですか] makes a polite question. Rising intonation at the end helps it sound natural.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Polite forms like [ですか] are the safe default with strangers (station staff, passersby).
Phrase Breakdown
です
desu
[dess]
is/are (polite)
Polite copula. Used to state or identify something. In questions, it’s often followed by か.
ここは駅です。
This is the station.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question (polite style). Common in directions questions like 〜ですか.
地下鉄の駅はどこですか。
Where is the subway station?
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