How to Say ‘Where did you buy it?’ in Japanese
どこで買いましたか。
doko de kai mashi ta ka
[doh-koh de KAH-ee mah-shee tah kah]
💬 Usage Tip: で after a place marks where an action happens. Here it attaches to どこ "where". The same pattern gives 駅で買いました "I bought it at the station".
Phrase Breakdown
どこで
doko de
where (at what place)
'Doko' means where, and 'de' marks the place where an action happens.
どこで会いますか。
Where shall we meet?
Words in this phrase
どこ
doko
[doh-koh]
where
A question word asking about location or place.
どこに行くのですか。
Where are you going?
で
de
[de]
at; in
Indicates a location where an action takes place.
公園で遊びます。
I play at the park.
買いましたか。
kai mashi ta ka
did you buy (it)?
The polite past question form of 'kau' (to buy): 'kaimashita ka'. The 'i' in 'shi' is soft.
昨日、何を買いましたか。
What did you buy yesterday?
Words in this phrase
買い
kai
[KAH-ee]
buy
Stem of the verb 買う (to buy), used before polite endings.
パンを買います。
I buy bread.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past stem
Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.
昨日は多くのことを学びました。
I learned many things yesterday.
た
ta
[tah]
past tense ending
This ending completes the polite past tense form.
空席がございまし た。
There were vacant seats.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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