Question Words in German
Question words come in many forms in German. In conversation, they help us find out what information the other person wants from us. In this chapter, we'll look at question words more closely.
Note for German as Second Language Learners
Not every language uses question words the way they are used in German. In Chinese or Turkish, questions are sometimes formulated very differently. If you notice that your language doesn't use question words, it's worth doing more research on the internet.
Beginner Level
First W-Questions
We want to start with some W-questions. You probably already know and use many of them. When you go to town, you can ask: "Where can I find the supermarket?" or "When does my bus come?" These questions probably sound familiar from your own language or from another foreign language. Basically, W-questions are open questions, meaning those that CANNOT be answered with "yes" or "no."
| W-Question | Topic | Question | Answer | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🔍 | Wo? (Where?) | Place | "Where is the book?" | "The book is on the table" | |
| ⌛ | Wann? (When?) | Time | "When will we meet?" | "We'll meet on Tuesday." | |
| 👫 | Wer? (Who?) | Person/Animals | "Who ate the last cookie?" | "That was Thomas." | |
| ❓ | Warum? (Why?) | Reason | "Why did Thomas eat the cookie?" | "Because he was hungry." | You can usually answer why-questions with because... |
| 🔢 | Wie viel? (How much?) | Amount, Quantity | "How much did the shopping cost?" | "54.20€" |
Exercise 1
Compare with the question words of your first language. Translate the question words into your own language. 👂 Listen for question words in conversations and ✏️ note which questions you hear often.
When asking a question in German, the voice 👄🎤 gets higher ↗️ at the end of the sentence. Listen to these three examples and pay attention to the rising intonation.
More Important W-Questions
Here are some more W-questions that you hear frequently in everyday life:
| W-Question | Topic | Question | Answer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🔨 | Womit? (With what?) | Tool/Method | "With what are you writing?" | "With a pen." |
| 🏠 | Wohin? (Where to?) | Direction/Destination | "Where are you going?" | "To school." |
| 📖 | Was? (What?) | Thing/Object | "What are you reading?" | "A book." |
| 🎨 | Wie? (How?) | Method/Manner | "How are you doing?" | "Very well." |
Advanced Level
Complex Question Formations
At the advanced level, we combine question words with prepositions and learn more sophisticated questioning techniques.
Question Words with Prepositions
German often combines question words with prepositions to be more specific:
- Wofür? (What for?) - "Wofür brauchst du das?" (What do you need that for?)
- Worüber? (About what?) - "Worüber sprecht ihr?" (What are you talking about?)
- Womit? (With what?) - "Womit fährst du zur Arbeit?" (How do you get to work?)
Exercise 2
Practice forming questions with these combined question words. Try to ask 5 questions using different combinations.
Expert Level
Indirect Questions
At the expert level, learn to form polite, indirect questions:
Direct: "Wo ist der Bahnhof?" (Where is the train station?) Indirect: "Könnten Sie mir sagen, wo der Bahnhof ist?" (Could you tell me where the train station is?)
Regional Variations
Some question words vary by region in German-speaking countries. Be aware of these differences when traveling or speaking with people from different areas.