How to Say ‘When is it?’ in Japanese
はいつですか
wa itsu desu ka
[wah ee-tsoo dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [いつですか] means “when is it?” Combined with a topic, it becomes a polite question. It is simple and very useful.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese service questions are often direct in meaning but softened by polite grammar, so they sound gentle rather than abrupt.
Phrase Breakdown
は
wa
[wah]
topic marker
A particle that marks what the sentence is about.
「お日にちはいつですか」で「は」は話題を示します。
In "When is the date?" "は" marks the topic.
いつ
itsu
[ee-tsoo]
when
A question word used to ask about time or date.
出発はいつですか。
When is the departure?
です
desu
[dess]
is / am / are
A polite copula used in questions and statements.
集合時間は九時です。
The meeting time is nine o'clock.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
A particle placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
「お名前は何ですか」の「か」は質問を表します。
The "ka" in "What is your name?" marks a question.
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