Asking a question, and writing down what someone said

A question costs one character on the end and moves nothing else. Then learn the frame Japanese writes speech in, so you can find the edges of every line of dialogue on a page.

≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

A question costs one character on the end, かka, and moves nothing.
The question word sits in the slot the answer would fill; English drags it to the front and Japanese does not.
In speech のno usually replaces かka, and both closing stories ask that way.
The quoted words come first, inside 「」, then とto, then the speaker, then the saying verb — still last.
きくkiku is both “ask” and “hear”; the sentence tells you which.

Statement → question: add か, move nothing

A question costs one character on the end and moves nothing else. Compare each statement with the question beside it.

それは犬だsore wa inu da“that is a dog”

それは犬かsore wa inu ka“is that a dog?”

the だda drops out, because かka is closing the sentence now

もりにいくmori ni iku“goes to the forest”

もりにいくかmori ni iku ka“is it going to the forest?”

a verb keeps its shape and just takes the character on the end

Four question words

These four ask what, who, where and why. Where they sit in the sentence is the surprise.

Japanese	Sound
なに“what”	nani
だれ“who”	dare
どこ“where”	doko
なぜ“why”	naze

The question word sits exactly where the answer would sit. English yanks it to the front; Japanese leaves it in place, keeping its particle: どこにdoko ni is “at where”, because a place needs にni whether you know it or not.

どこにdoko ni“where” いくのiku no“are you going?”

どこにいくの。

doko ni iku no.

In speech かka sounds blunt, so people end questions with のno instead — every voice in the closing stories asks this way. A question ending in のno often takes 。 rather than a question mark.

Four verbs a story runs on

A story keeps saying, asking, answering and thinking. These four carry most of the dialogue you are about to read.

Japanese	Sound
いう“say”	iu
きく“ask; hear”	kiku
こたえる“answer”	kotaeru
おもう“think”	omou

One verb, きくkiku, is both “ask” and “hear” — the same act seen from two ends. Which one it is is obvious from the sentence.

The quote frame: the quote, then と, then the speaker, then the verb

Japanese writes speech down in a fixed order, and the saying verb still comes last. Build each row from left to right.

こんにちはkonnichiwa“hello”

「こんにちは。」konnichiwa“the quote” とto“that” きつねがkitsune ga“the fox” いうiu“says”

a speaker arriving in a scene is new, so がga rather than はwa

くまがここにいるkuma ga koko ni iru“a bear is here”

くまがここにいるkuma ga koko ni iru“the thought” とto“that” おもうomou“I think”

thoughts use the same frame without the brackets. Once you can spot とto before a saying verb, you can find the edges of every line of dialogue on a page

Find the question, find the speaker

それは猫か。
One character on the end changed everything.
Show answer +Hide answer −
sore wa neko ka — “Is that a cat?”
ともだちはどこにいるの。
The question word is sitting where the answer would.
Show answer +Hide answer −
tomodachi wa doko ni iru no — “Where is your friend?”
「みずがない。」とミナがいう。
Everything before とto was spoken aloud.
Show answer +Hide answer −
mizu ga nai, to Mina ga iu — “‘There is no water,’ says Mina.”

Come back to these chapters whenever you need them.All Japanese chapters ↗