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How to Say ‘When did you come to Japan?’ in Japanese

日本にはいつ来ましたか。

nihon ni wa itsu ki mashi ta ka

[Nihon ni wah ee-tsoo kee mah-shee tah kah]

💬 Usage Tip: には marks Japan as the topic, roughly "as for coming to Japan." The は here is said (wa), so the pair is (ni wa).

Phrase Breakdown

日本には

nihon ni wa

to Japan (as for)

日本 (Nihon) means Japan. に shows the destination, and は makes it the topic. Pronounced 'Nihon ni wa'. Note that は is read 'wa' here.

Example

日本には山が多いです。

Japan has many mountains.

Words in this phrase

日本

nihon

[Nihon]

Japan

A country in East Asia located in the Pacific Ocean.

Example

日本の食事を楽しむ。

Enjoy a meal in Japan.

に

[ni]

Indicates direction or purpose of an action.

Example

お父さんにプレゼントをあげます。

I will give a present to my father.

は

[wah]

topic marker

は marks the topic of the sentence.

Example

空席はありますか。

Are there any seats available?

いつ来ましたか。

itsu ki mashi ta ka

when did you come?

A question asking when someone came. The whole sentence means 'When did you come to Japan?'

Example

先生はいつ来ましたか。

When did the teacher come?

Words in this phrase

いつ

itsu

[ee-tsoo]

when

Question word used to ask about time.

Example

いつ会える？

When can we meet?

来

[kee]

come

From 来る, meaning 'to come.' Used when thanking someone for attending.

Example

会場に来てくれてありがとう。

Thank you for coming to the venue.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite past stem

Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.

Example

昨日は多くのことを学びました。

I learned many things yesterday.

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

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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