🍹❓

How to Say ‘What are you drinking?’ in Japanese

何飲んでるんですか？

nan non deru n desu ka

[nan NOHN deh-roo n dess kah]

💬 Usage Tip: んですか turns a plain question into one that shows real interest in the other person's situation. Spoken, 飲んでる drops the い from 飲んでいる.

Phrase Breakdown

何飲んでるん

nan non deru n

what (you're) drinking

何 (nani) means 'what'. 飲んでる (nonderu) means 'is drinking'. The final ん links smoothly into ですか.

Example

何飲んでるの？

What are you drinking?

Words in this phrase

何

nan

[nan]

what

何 means what; in 何時 it helps ask 'what time'.

Example

何時に始まりますか。

What time does it start?

飲ん

non

[NOHN]

drink

Form of 飲む used before the te-ending で.

Example

水を飲んでください。

Please drink water.

でる

deru

[deh-roo]

is; in the state of

Casual spoken ending from ている, showing an ongoing state.

Example

少し疲れてでる、みたいに聞こえる。

It sounds like saying 'tired,' in a casual ongoing-state way.

ん

[n]

explanatory tone

Adds explanation or background to what the speaker is saying.

Example

写真のプロジェクトをしているんだ。

I'm doing a photography project, you know.

ですか？

desu ka

is it? (polite question)

This makes the sentence a polite question. 'desu' sounds like 'des'. Raise your tone on か.

Example

それは何ですか？

What is that?

Words in this phrase

です

desu

[dess]

is; polite copula

A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.

Example

少し伺いたいです。

I would like to ask a little.

か

[kah]

question marker

Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Example

A席はありますか。

Are there A seats available?

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