A language opens up when you can ask questions. In this lesson you learn the question words, countries, languages and jobs, so you can talk about who people are, where they come from and what they do.
Question words
The question word replaces the missing information and stays in the same place in the sentence. You still add か at the end.
| Japanese | Romaji | नेपाली | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| だれ / どなた | dare / donata | को / (आदरपूर्वक) को हुनुहुन्छ | who (どなた is polite) | ▶ |
| なに / なん | nani / nan | के | what (なん before です, の, か) | ▶ |
| どこ | doko | कहाँ | where | ▶ |
| どれ | dore | कुन (धेरैमध्ये) | which one (of three or more) | ▶ |
| どの + noun | dono | कुन ... | which (+ noun), e.g. どの ほん | ▶ |
| いつ | itsu | कहिले | when | ▶ |
| いくつ | ikutsu | कति (वटा) | how many; how old (for things) | ▶ |
| いくら | ikura | कति पर्छ | how much (price) | ▶ |
| どう | dou | कस्तो / कसरी | how, how is it | ▶ |
| どうして | doushite | किन | why | ▶ |
| Japanese | Romaji | नेपाली | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あの ひとは だれですか。 | ano hito wa dare desu ka. | ती व्यक्ति को हुन्? | Who is that person? | ▶ |
| あの ひとは たなかさんです。 | ano hito wa tanaka-san desu. | ती तानाका जी हुन्। | That is Mr/Ms Tanaka. | ▶ |
| おなまえは なんですか。 | onamae wa nan desu ka. | तपाईंको नाम के हो? | What is your name? | ▶ |
| おくには どこですか。 | okuni wa doko desu ka. | तपाईंको देश कुन हो? | Which country are you from? | ▶ |
| たんじょうびは いつですか。 | tanjoubi wa itsu desu ka. | जन्मदिन कहिले हो? | When is your birthday? | ▶ |
Countries, nationalities and languages
Add じん to a country for the person (ネパール + じん), and ご for the language (にほん + ご). English is a special case: イギリス → えいご.
| Japanese | Romaji | नेपाली | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ネパール / ネパールじん / ネパールご | nepaaru / -jin / -go | नेपाल / नेपाली / नेपाली भाषा | Nepal / Nepali person / Nepali language | ▶ |
| にほん / にほんじん / にほんご | nihon / nihonjin / nihongo | जापान / जापानी / जापानी भाषा | Japan / Japanese person / Japanese language | ▶ |
| インド / インドじん | indo / indojin | भारत / भारतीय | India / Indian | ▶ |
| ちゅうごく / ちゅうごくじん | chuugoku / chuugokujin | चीन / चिनियाँ | China / Chinese | ▶ |
| ベトナム / ベトナムじん | betonamu / betonamujin | भियतनाम / भियतनामी | Vietnam / Vietnamese | ▶ |
| フィリピン / フィリピンじん | firipin / firipinjin | फिलिपिन्स / फिलिपिनो | the Philippines / Filipino | ▶ |
| インドネシア / インドネシアじん | indoneshia / indoneshiajin | इन्डोनेसिया / इन्डोनेसियाली | Indonesia / Indonesian | ▶ |
| ミャンマー / ミャンマーじん | myanmaa / myanmaajin | म्यानमार / म्यानमारी | Myanmar / Burmese | ▶ |
| アメリカ / アメリカじん | amerika / amerikajin | अमेरिका / अमेरिकी | America / American | ▶ |
| イギリス / えいご | igirisu / eigo | बेलायत / अङ्ग्रेजी भाषा | the UK / English language | ▶ |
Jobs and places of work
| Japanese | Romaji | नेपाली | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| しごと | shigoto | काम / पेसा | work, job | ▶ |
| おしごとは なんですか。 | oshigoto wa nan desu ka. | तपाईंको पेसा के हो? | What is your job? | ▶ |
| かいしゃ | kaisha | कम्पनी | company | ▶ |
| こうじょう | koujou | कारखाना | factory | ▶ |
| びょういん | byouin | अस्पताल | hospital | ▶ |
| レストラン | resutoran | रेस्टुरेन्ट | restaurant | ▶ |
| ホテル | hoteru | होटल | hotel | ▶ |
| だいがく | daigaku | विश्वविद्यालय | university | ▶ |
| にほんごがっこう | nihongo gakkou | जापानी भाषा विद्यालय | Japanese-language school | ▶ |
| コックさん | kokku-san | भान्से (कुक) | cook, chef | ▶ |
| べんごし | bengoshi | वकिल | lawyer | ▶ |
| かいごふくしし | kaigo fukushishi | प्रमाणित हेरचाह कार्यकर्ता | certified care worker | ▶ |
Say ~で はたらいて います (I work at ~) later in Lesson 20. For now use the pattern わたしは (job) です or (place) の (job) です: こうじょうの しゃいんです.
Dialogue: two new colleagues
| Japanese | Romaji | नेपाली / English | Listen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | おくには どこですか。 | okuni wa doko desu ka. | तपाईंको देश कुन हो? Which country are you from? | ▶ |
| B | ネパールです。 あなたは？ | nepaaru desu. anata wa? | नेपाल हो। तपाईंको? Nepal. And you? | ▶ |
| A | わたしは ベトナムです。 おしごとは なんですか。 | watashi wa betonamu desu. oshigoto wa nan desu ka. | म भियतनामबाट हुँ। तपाईंको पेसा के हो? I'm from Vietnam. What do you do? | ▶ |
| B | こうじょうの しゃいんです。 | koujou no shain desu. | कारखानाको कर्मचारी हुँ। I'm a factory employee. | ▶ |
| A | わたしも こうじょうの しゃいんです。 | watashi mo koujou no shain desu. | म पनि कारखानाको कर्मचारी हुँ। I'm a factory employee too. | ▶ |
Every ▶ button plays a clear computer voice, which is good for learning sounds and rhythm but is not a native speaker. Pitch (the rise and fall of the voice) can sound a little flat. Also listen to real Japanese as often as you can: videos, news for learners (NHK Easy), and Japanese people around you.
Check yourself
Try to answer every question before you look at the answers.
- Which word means "who"?
- Ask: "What is your name?"
- Ask: "When is your birthday?"
- How do you say "Japanese language"?
- Make "Vietnamese person" from ベトナム.
- Ask "What is your job?"
- Which question word means "how much" for a price?
- Say: "I am a factory employee."
- What is the difference between どれ and どの?
- Answer: ちゅうごくじんですか。 No, Nepali.
Answers
Count your correct answers. If you got fewer than 7 out of 10, read the lesson again and listen to the audio once more.
- だれ (polite: どなた).
- おなまえは なんですか。
- たんじょうびは いつですか。
- にほんご.
- ベトナムじん.
- おしごとは なんですか。
- いくら.
- わたしは こうじょうの しゃいんです。
- どれ stands alone (which one?); どの is followed by a noun (which book?).
- いいえ、ネパールじんです。
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