Recognize 何 in everyday Japanese and connect its meanings, what and how many, with whole words in context.

The idea

Compare 何を（なにを） and 何ですか（なんですか） in the table: a character can have different readings in different words. 何 has 7 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
何をなにをwhat (object of a verb)
何ですかなんですかwhat is it?
何時なんじwhat time?
何人なんにんhow many people?

Examples

  • 朝あさご飯はんに何なにを食たべますか。What do you eat for breakfast?
  • これは何なんですか。What is this?
  • 何時なんじに学校がっこうへ行いきますか。What time do you go to school?
  • 家族かぞくは何人なんにんですか。How many people are in your family?
  • 何なにを飲のみますか。What will you drink?
  • それは何なんの本ほんですか。What is that book about?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

何 has more than one reading: say なに in 何を, but なん in 何ですか and 何時. Learn each question word with the word or particle that follows it.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 何を in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    なにを

    何を is read なにを; the complete word means what (object of a verb).

  2. Write the reading of 何ですか in hiragana.

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    なんですか

    何ですか is read なんですか; the complete word means what is it?.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿時（なんじ）.

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    何

    何 completes 何時, read なんじ; the complete word means what time?.

Use it today

Cover the table and write 何 from memory. Read 何を and 何ですか aloud, then make a sentence and check its meaning against the examples.