W-questions: who, what, where, when, why
wer, was, wo, woher, wohin, wie, wann, warum
Part of the free A0 German course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
Question words in German nearly all start with w, so they are called W-Fragen.
| German | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wer | who | Wer ist das? |
| was | what | Was machst du? |
| wo | where (place) | Wo wohnst du? |
| woher | where from | Woher kommst du? |
| wohin | where to | Wohin fährst du? |
| wie | how | Wie geht's? |
| wann | when | Wann kommst du? |
| warum | why | Warum lernst du Deutsch? |
Useful combinations: wie alt (how old), wie viel (how much), wie spät (what time).
False friends
Careful: German wer means who, not where, and wo means where, not who. Was means what.
Word order: W-word, verb, subject
The question word is position 1, the verb comes second, then the subject, just like in a statement (see The verb comes second):
- Was kochst du heute? (What are you cooking today?)
- Wo wohnt deine Schwester? (Where does your sister live?)
wo, woher or wohin?
- Wo asks where something is: Wo bist du? Im Büro.
- Woher asks where something comes from: Woher kommst du? Aus Irland.
- Wohin asks where something goes to: Wohin fährst du? Nach Wien.
- Wer ist das?Who is that?
- Was machst du heute?What are you doing today?
- Wo wohnt ihr?Where do you live?
- Woher kommt Herr Yilmaz?Where is Mr Yilmaz from?
- Wohin fährst du im Sommer?Where are you going in the summer?
- Wie alt ist dein Sohn?How old is your son?
- Wann beginnt der Kurs?When does the course start?
- Warum lernst du Deutsch?Why are you learning German?
In W-questions, your voice usually goes down at the end. In yes/no questions it goes up.
Common mistakes
- Using wer for "where". Wer is "who"; "where" is wo.
Wo kommst du?For origin, use woher: Woher kommst du?Wo du wohnst?The verb comes second: Wo wohnst du?Was ist du?The verb must match the subject: Wer bist du? or Was machst du?
Practice
- _____ wohnst du? In Hamburg.
Show the answer
Wo
- _____ kommst du? Aus Spanien.
Show the answer
Woher
- _____ fährt der Zug? Nach Berlin.
Show the answer
Wohin
- _____ ist der Mann? Das ist mein Vater.
Show the answer
Wer
In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days, until you've answered it correctly on three separate days.