How to Say ‘What is it?’ in Japanese
何ですか
nan desu ka
[nah-nee dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [何ですか] is a polite way to ask "what is it?" after a topic: [お名前は何ですか] or [ご趣味は何ですか]. [ですか] makes it a polite question.
Phrase Breakdown
何
nan
[nah-nee]
what
Question word meaning 'what'. In interviews, it appears in set questions like 'What is your weakness?'
あなたの強みは何ですか。
What is your strength?
です
desu
[dess]
to be (polite); is/are (polite)
Polite copula used before か to form a polite question.
弱みは何ですか。
What is your weakness?
か
ka
[kah]
(question particle)
Placed at the end to make a question in polite Japanese, very common in interviews.
改善するために何かしていますか。
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