How to Say ‘What is it?’ in Japanese
なんですか。
nan desu ka
[nahn dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: か at the end turns a statement into a question, so no rising word order is needed. The word for "what" becomes なん before です.
Phrase Breakdown
なん
nan
[nahn]
what
なん means “what.” Used in questions, especially before です/ですか: なまえはなんですか (“What is your name?”).
なまえはなんですか。
What is your name?
です
desu
[dess]
is; am; are
A basic polite copula used to say 'is/am/are.'
田中です。
I am Tanaka.
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。
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