How to Say ‘What kind of book is it?’ in Japanese
どんな本ですか。
donna hon desu ka
[don-na hon dess ka]
💬 Usage Tip: [ですか] makes the sentence a polite question. [どんな本ですか。] is a natural pattern you can reuse with many nouns.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Asking with polite forms like [ですか] sounds gentle and appropriate in most Japanese social settings.
Phrase Breakdown
どんな
donna
[don-na]
what kind of
Asks about the type or nature of a noun that follows.
どんな映画を見ましたか。
What kind of movie did you watch?
本
hon
[hon]
book
A physical or written book; also used in simple beginner sentences.
あの本は新しいです。
That book is new.
です
desu
[dess]
is; am; are
Polite verb-like ending used to make statements politely.
それは大切です。
That is important.
か
ka
[ka]
question marker
Sentence-ending particle that turns a statement into a question.
元気ですか。
How are you? / Are you well?
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