Is A B? / A は B ですか？

How to Say “Is A B?” in Japanese

In this beginner Japanese grammar lesson, you will learn how to make simple yes/no questions in Japanese using the pattern A は B ですか？

To make a polite question in Japanese, add か at the end of the sentence.

The basic pattern is very simple:

• A は B です。= A is B.
• A は B ですか？= Is A B?

Remember: は is pronounced “wa” when it works as a topic marker.

Examples

あなたはさとしさんですか？

Are you Mr. Satoshi?

In natural Japanese, あなた is often omitted if the listener is obvious from the context.

それはおいしいですか？

Is it tasty?

おいしい [I-adjective] tasty, delicious

With I-adjectives, you can also say おいしい？ casually. Adding ですか makes the question more polite.

Practice

Translate the following sentences into Japanese using A は B ですか？

6W1H in Japanese

Next, let’s look at Japanese question words such as “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” “which,” and “how.” Because Japanese and English have different grammatical structures, it is better not to translate them too literally.

Still, the following table gives you a useful beginner-friendly overview.

Japanese (Hiragana)	English	Kanji	Polite Expression
だれ	Who	誰	何方どなた / どちら様さま
なに	What	何	–
いつ	When	何時	–
どこ	Where	何処	どちら
なぜ / どうして	Why	何故	–
どれ	Which	–	どちら
どんな / どうやって / どれくらい etc.	How	–	どのように / いかが

誰だれ and 何なに are often written in kanji, while いつ, どこ, and なぜ are often written in hiragana.

In Japanese, question words usually appear in the same position as the information you are asking about.

Examples

(あなたは)誰だれですか？

Who are you?

あなたは should usually be omitted if the listener is obvious from the situation.

Polite expression

どちら様さまですか？

あれは何なんですか？

What is that?

When 何 comes before です, it is usually pronounced なん: 何ですか？ = なんですか？

(あなたの)誕生日たんじょうびはいつですか？

When is your birthday?

誕生日たんじょうび [noun] birthday

あなたの should usually be omitted if the owner is obvious from the situation.

トイレはどこですか？

Where is the restroom?

トイレ [noun] restroom, bathroom, toilet

In American English, “restroom” or “bathroom” sounds more natural than “toilet” in many public situations.

(あなたは)なぜそう思おもいますか？

Why do you think so?

そう [adverb] so
思おもう [verb] to think
思おもい is a conjugated form of 思う

あなたは should usually be omitted if it is obvious from the context.

彼女かのじょのスマホはどれですか？

Which is her smartphone?

スマホ [noun] smartphone

(あなたは)どうやって来きますか？

How will you come?

来くる [verb] to come
来き is a conjugated form of 来る

あなたは should usually be omitted if it is obvious from the context.

Vocabulary

Japanese	Pronunciation	English	Another Way
ペン	pen	pen	–
パソコン	pasokon	PC, personal computer	PC
スマホ	sumaho	smartphone	スマートフォン
机つくえ	tsukue	desk	デスク
椅子いす	isu	chair	チェア
誕生日たんじょうび	tanjoobi	birthday	–
期日きじつ	kijitsu	due date	–
予定よてい	yotee	schedule, plan	計画けいかく
入口いりぐち	iriguchi	entrance	–
出口でぐち	deguchi	exit	–
トイレ	toire	restroom, bathroom, toilet	便所べんじょ
駅えき	eki	station	–
バス停てい	basutee	bus stop	–
空港くうこう	kuukoo	airport	–

Japanese	Pronunciation	English
いくつ	ikutsu	how many, how old
いくら	ikura	how much, usually for price
どれくらい	dorekurai	how much, how long, how far, how often, to what degree

Examples

おいくつですか？

1. How old are you?
2. How many would you like?

1. (あなたは)おいくつですか？
*あなたは is omitted. お is added before いくつ to make the expression more polite.
2. (あなたは)おいくつ(欲ほしい)ですか？
*When shopping or counting, いくつ can mean “how many.”

欲ほしい [I-adjective] want, would like

おいくらですか？

How much is this?

(これは)おいくらですか？
*これは is omitted. お is added before いくら to make the expression more polite.

どれくらいかかりますか？

How long does it take?

(それは)どれくらい(時間じかんが)かかりますか？
*それは and 時間が are omitted if they are obvious from the context.

時間じかん [noun] time
時間がかかる [phrase] to take time

どれくらい遠とおいですか？

How far is it?

(それは)どれくらい遠いですか？

遠とおい [I-adjective] far

Practice

Translate the following sentences into Japanese using 誰だれ, 何なに, いつ, どこ, なぜ, or どんな.

Intermediate

Summary

To make a simple polite yes/no question in Japanese, add か after the sentence.

• A は B です。= A is B.
• A は B ですか？= Is A B?
• 誰ですか？= Who is it? / Who are you?
• 何ですか？= What is it?
• どこですか？= Where is it?

Japanese questions do not require word-order changes like English. Instead, question words stay in the natural Japanese sentence position, and か often marks the sentence as a question.

For beginners, start with simple patterns like A は B ですか？, then gradually learn question words such as 誰, 何, いつ, どこ, なぜ, and どうやって.