How to Say ‘What is it like?’ in Japanese
どんな感じですか。
donna kanji desu ka
[dohn-nah kahn-jee dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [どんな] is used before nouns, so [どんな感じ] literally means "what kind of feeling/what kind of vibe." Japanese often uses [感じ] where English would say "what is it like?"
Phrase Breakdown
どんな
donna
[dohn-nah]
what kind of
Used to ask for the type or nature of something.
どんな感じですかと質問してみました。
I tried asking, 'What is it like?'
感じ
kanji
[kahn-jee]
feeling; impression; sense
Often used to ask about the general vibe or impression of something.
職場はどんな感じですか。
What is the workplace like?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
Standard polite form used in questions and statements.
どんな感じですかと丁寧に聞けます。
You can politely ask, 'What is it like?'
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Turns the sentence into a question.
雰囲気はどんな感じですか。
What is the atmosphere like?
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