How to Say ‘What's the difference?’ in Japanese
どう違うんですか？
dou chigau n desu ka
[doh chee-GAH-oo n dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: The んですか ending makes a question sound like you genuinely want an explanation. Point at two menu items and say どう違うんですか (dō chigau n desu ka), and staff will usually explain happily.
Phrase Breakdown
どう
dou
[doh]
how
Used to ask for an opinion or suggestion, like 'how about...?'
7時はどうですか？
How about 7 o’clock?
違う
chigau
[chee-GAH-oo]
to differ; to be different
Verb meaning two things are not the same.
ラテとカプチーノは違う。
A latte and a cappuccino are different.
ん
n
[n]
(explanatory n)
Casual form of の; adds a tone of seeking or giving an explanation, often before です.
どうしたんですか。
What happened?
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
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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