How to Say ‘Where do you live?’ in Japanese
どこに住んでいますか。
doko ni sun de i masu ka
[doh-koh nee SOON deh ee mahs kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Japanese uses the 〜ています form for where you live, describing an ongoing state, not the plain verb 住みます. Answer with the place + に住んでいます.
Phrase Breakdown
どこに
doko ni
where (in what place)
どこ (doko) means 'where.' に (ni) marks the place where you live or exist.
どこにありますか。
Where is it?
Words in this phrase
どこ
doko
[doh-koh]
where
どこ is used to ask location. Often appears with particles like に/へ/で (どこに行く, どこで買う).
次の駅はどこですか。
Where is the next station?
に
ni
[nee]
in; at; to
Particle indicating location or target state.
手元に置きたいです。
I want to keep it at hand.
住んでいますか。
sun de i masu ka
do you live?
Say it as sun-de i-ma-su ka. The 'n' is a full beat, and the 'u' in 'su' is very light.
ここに住んでいますか。
Do you live here?
Words in this phrase
住ん
sun
[SOON]
live (te-form stem)
Form of sumu 'to live (reside)', changed to connect with -de.
大阪に住んでいます。
I live in Osaka.
で
de
[deh]
(te-form connector)
Part of the te-form; with iru it shows an ongoing state.
ここに住んでいます。
I live here.
い
i
[ee]
to be; ongoing state
Part of the progressive or current-state expression.
空いていますかを確認します。
I will check whether they are available.
ます
masu
[mahs]
polite verb ending
A standard polite ending added to verbs, often used in customer service and formal speech.
予約を確認し ます。
I will confirm the reservation.
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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