Japanese Wh-questions: どうして・なぜ・なんで, いつ, いくつ, いくら & どのくらい

In the last two lessons, you learned wh-questions with demonstratives: こそあど, e.g. どんな本ほんを読よみますか (What kind of book(s) do you read)？ However, there are still other types of question words, which are not related to demonstratives. In this lesson, you will complete the topic: wh-question.

Five Japanese Wh-questions not related to Demonstratives

Regardless of whether questions words are related to demonstratives, the basic concepts are the same. By paying attention to the function of particles and omissions of subjects, you can make natural interrogative sentences with question words. Let’s check how it works.

どうして, なぜ, and なんで: Why

The first question words are どうして, なぜ, and なんで. All of them are counterparts to “why” in English. However, the formality is different as shown below. You need to choose one of them depending on the situation.

Formal: なぜ
Neutral: どうして
Casual: なんで (only in speaking)

Since these question words are categorized into adverbs in Japanese grammar, it’s not necessarily the case that they are placed at the beginning. Note: when you ask reasons, it’s natural that you already have some contexts. That is to say, the question marker の is more suitable than か

なんで VS. なにで

The question word: なんで comes from the combination of 何 and the particle で. One of the functions of the particle で is to express reasons (causation). That’s why なんで can be a counterpart to “why.” Let’s see the breakdown below. *Note: なんで is sometimes written in kanji.

As you learned, the question word 何 can be replaced with nouns. In the example, 風邪かぜ, which is the reason shown by the particle で, has been replaced. Thus, the literal meaning is “what reason,” but you can consider it as “why” in English. The point here is that since the particle で can express means and materials too, you can ask it by using the same form.

That’s a little confusing, isn’t it? For example, the last sentence: 何なにでジュースを作つくるの？ may be treated as “Why do you make juice?” and “By using what materials will you make juice?” Therefore, Japanese people distinguish them by using different pronunciations. That’s なんで vs. なにで.

なんで: Reasons (causation)
なにで: Means or Materials

You learned that 何 is always pronounced as なん if the letter after 何 is part of the Ta line (た ち つ て と), Da line (だ ぢ づ で ど), or Na line (な に ぬ ね の). Here is an exception.

いつ: When

いつ is the question word for time and a counterpart to “when” in English. This is categorized into adverbial nouns in terms of grammar. Therefore, いつ can work as a subject, a complement and an adverb.

The particle から and まで can be used with いつ together like “from when” and “until when.”

If you’d like to ask approximate time, you need to attach ごろ to いつ. Some young people use  ぐらい instead of ごろ nowadays, though this is not grammatically correct. Please keep in mind that ぐらい should be used for amount.

Specific Time

As you learned, 何 can be replaced with nouns. The function is applicable for time as well. By utilizing that, you can ask a specific question like “what time is it now?”

In this usage: time + counter, 何 is always pronounced as なん. Then, when time expressions work as supplementary information, you have to attach the particle に.

You can also use other time counters such as 何年なんねん, 何月なんがつ, 何日なんにち, 何分なんふん, and 何なん秒びょう.

いくつ・いくら: How Old… / How Many… / How Much…

いくつ and いくら are the set phrases for age and price. If you attach お to them, you can ask questions in a more polite way.

いくつ and いくら are also the counterparts to "how many" and "how much" in English.

The origin of いくつ comes from the way of counting: つ-method. By using this, you can ask how many generic objects there are. Regarding particles for objects, you have to choose it depending on verbs. However, it is also common to use objects as a topic like the above example.

One point you need to know is that いくつ can be used for only generic objects (つ）and general goods (個こ). When you ask a number of things which require specific counters, you need to use the sentence pattern: “何 + counter.” 何 is a really versatile. You can even ask age and prices. Note: 何 + counter is always pronounced as なん. 

どのくらい: How + Adjectives

どのくらい is the question word to ask degree. The usage is similar to どう which is to seek a description. どのくらい is generally used with words which have degree and can be translated as “how adjective…” You may sometime see どのぐらい, どれくらい, and どれぐらい instead of どのくらい. They all are interchangeable.

Here is another function of どのくらい. You can ask an approximate number. This has the same meaning as “何 + counter + くらい.”

In this usage, かかる: to take (a resource, e.g. time or money) is often used. Be careful. When native speakers use this, subjects are often omitted.

Summary

1. There’s not a big difference between question words related or not related to demonstratives.
2. Question words categorized into adverbs such as “なぜ” and “いくつ” cannot be subjects or complements.
3. One of the function of the particle に is to express specific time.

Great Job! You’ve completed Japanese wh-questions. Now, you can compose both open questions and closed questions. Interrogative sentences are a basis in conversation. Thus, we recommend that you memorize all of the question words here. Next, you will learn negative questions with the response.