{"id":94584,"date":"2024-05-14T11:47:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T15:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/questions-in-german\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T03:42:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T07:42:25","slug":"questions-in-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/questions-in-german\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Ask Questions in German"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asking questions is the pathway to knowledge of any kind, and the same goes for your journey to learn German<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Knowing how to ask questions in German opens so many doors. All it takes is understanding the basics behind German questions and German question words, so let’s get started.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

German Question Words<\/h2>\n

One of the most obvious ways to ask a question in any language is to use a question word. If you\u2019ve ever asked who, what, when, where and\/or why, you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n

Here are common question words you\u2019ll find in German, along with some example questions.<\/p>\n

Wer <\/em>\u2014 Who<\/h3>\n

Wer kommt mit dir zur Hochzeit?
\n<\/em>Who is coming with you to the wedding?<\/p>\n

Wer ist der Bundeskanzler von Deutschland? <\/em>
\n<\/strong>Who is the Chancellor of Germany?<\/p>\n

Was \u2014 <\/em>What<\/h3>\n

Was hast du gestern gemacht?
\n<\/em>What did you do yesterday?<\/p>\n

Was ist los mit dir?
\n<\/em>What is up with you?<\/p>\n

Wann \u2014 <\/em>When<\/h3>\n

Wann<\/em>\u00a0hast du Geburtstag?<\/em>\u00a0
\nWhen is your birthday?<\/p>\n

Wann kommen deine Eltern an?
\n<\/em>When are your parents arriving?<\/p>\n

Wo \u2014 <\/em>Where<\/h3>\n

Wo hast du deinen Rock gekauft?
\n<\/em>Where did you buy your skirt?<\/p>\n

Wo\u00a0ist meine Brille?\u00a0
\n<\/em>Where are my glasses?<\/p>\n

Warum \u2014 <\/em>Why<\/h3>\n

Warum sprichst du Deutsch?
\n<\/em>Why do you speak German?<\/p>\n

Warum\u00a0bist du hier?\u00a0
\n<\/em>Why are you here?<\/p>\n

Wie \u2014 <\/em>How<\/h3>\n

Wie kommst du zur Schule?
\n<\/em>How do you get to school?<\/p>\n

Wie hast du das gemacht?\u00a0
\n<\/em>How did you do that?<\/p>\n

Wieso \u2014 <\/em>Why\/How come<\/h3>\n

Wieso<\/span> hast du mich nicht angerufen? <\/em>
\nWhy didn’t you call me?<\/p>\n

Wieso<\/span> siehst du so traurig aus?\u00a0<\/em>
\nWhy do you look so sad?<\/p>\n

Wie viel \u2014 <\/em>How much<\/h3>\n

Wie viel kostet die Halskette?
\n<\/em>How much does the necklace cost?<\/p>\n

Wie viel Zeit hast du?
\n<\/em>How much time do you have?<\/p>\n

Wie viele \u2014 <\/em>How many<\/h3>\n

Wie viele Kinder haben Sie?
\n<\/em>How many children do you have?<\/p>\n

Wie viele St\u00fchle brauchen wir?
\n<\/em>How many chairs do we need?<\/p>\n

Woher \u2014 <\/em>From where<\/h3>\n

Woher kommst du?
\n<\/em>Where are you from?<\/p>\n

Woher kennt ihr euch?
\n<\/em>Where do you guys know each other from?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wohin \u2014 <\/em>Where to<\/h3>\n

Wohin gehen wir heute Abend?
\n<\/em>Where are we going this evening?<\/p>\n

Wohin fahren deine Eltern?
\n<\/em>Where are your parents driving to?<\/p>\n

Wovon \u2014 <\/em>What about \/ what by \/ what from \/ what of<\/h3>\n

Wovon redest du?\u00a0
\n<\/em>What are you talking about?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wovon<\/span> handelt der Roman?
\n<\/em>What is the novel about?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wovon sind Sie nicht \u00fcberzeugt?
\n<\/em>What are you still not convinced by?<\/p>\n

Wovon lebt er?
\n<\/em>What does he make a living from?<\/p>\n

Welche \/ Welcher \/ Welches \u2014 <\/em>Which<\/h3>\n

Welcher Arzt hat Sie behandelt?
\n<\/em>Which doctor treated you?<\/p>\n

Welche Mannschaft hat gewonnen?
\n<\/em>Which team won?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Welches Kleid gef\u00e4llt dir am besten?
\n<\/em>Which dress do you like the most?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weshalb \u2014 <\/em>For what reason \/ Why<\/h3>\n

Weshalb kommst du so sp\u00e4t?
\n<\/em>Why are you so late?<\/p>\n

Weshalb hat er das getan?
\n<\/em>Why did he do that?<\/p>\n

Like most basic vocabulary terms in German, you should be able to memorize question words and recall them whenever necessary.<\/p>\n

But, if you\u2019re still not satisfied, keep reading. We\u2019ve got more questions for you!<\/p>\n

Yes or No Questions in German<\/h2>\n

Yes or no questions are probably the easiest. As the name implies, these are questions that can be answered with a simple ja<\/em>\u00a0oder nein <\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(yes or no). Questions like these always start with a verb.<\/p>\n

First, pick the correct tense for the question<\/a> you want to ask. You can use nearly any tense to ask a question. Then, simply conjugate the verb to the subject in the sentence using the proper tense.<\/p>\n

Place the conjugated verb first in the question and the subject second. The rest of the sentence should follow.<\/p>\n

Questions beginning with verbs are somewhat limited. However, this does make it easier to formulate an answer to these types of questions.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

Spielen Sie Tennis?
\n<\/em>Do you play tennis?<\/p>\n

Ja, ich spiele Tennis mit meinen Freunden.
\n<\/em>Yes, I play tennis with my friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As you can see, asking and answering the question simply requires flipping the main verb and the subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, you can also use conditional responses such as vielleicht \u00a0<\/em>(maybe), wahrscheinlich \u00a0<\/em>(probably), eigentlich nicht \u00a0<\/em>(not really) or any number of other responses.<\/p>\n

Kaufst du ein neues Auto?
\n<\/em>Are you buying a new car?<\/p>\n

Vielleicht kaufe ich mir ein neues Auto. Ich bin mir immer noch nicht sicher.
\n<\/em>Maybe I’ll buy myself a car. I’m still not sure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a question requires more than one verb, the extras go at the very end.<\/p>\n

K\u00f6nnen Sie mir\u00a0helfen?\u00a0<\/em>
\nCan you help me?<\/p>\n

Ja, ich kann Ihnen gleich helfen. <\/em>
\nYes, I can help you in a moment.<\/p>\n

Now we\u2019re working with two verbs:\u00a0k\u00f6nnen<\/em>\u00a0(can) and\u00a0helfen<\/em> (to help). Conjugate the first verb and put it at the beginning, just like we did before.<\/p>\n

The second verb goes all the way at the end, and in this example, it\u2019s untouched. No conjugation necessary.<\/p>\n

Hast du deine Hausaufgaben gemacht?
\n<\/em>Have you done your homework?<\/p>\n

Ich mache heute Abend meine Hausaufgaben.
\n<\/em>I’ll do my homework in the evening.<\/p>\n

Again, for this example, the first verb haben<\/em>\u00a0(to have) is conjugated at the beginning. Then we have our subject,\u00a0du,<\/em>\u00a0and our object,\u00a0deine Hausaufgaben<\/em>. At the end, we have the second verb we need:\u00a0gemacht<\/em>\u00a0(done).<\/p>\n

This time, that second verb is conjugated. That\u2019s because we\u2019re working with a verb tense that requires this.\u00a0You can read more about German verb tenses and word order here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Asking questions with a verb is as easy as picking a verb and formulating a question from it. Try your hand at a few!<\/p>\n

To see these different German question words and structures in action, you can study how native speakers use them on FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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