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Question Words

Fragewörter

Learn wer was wo wann wie warum

Rules & Explanations

Question Words Introduction

Einführung: Fragewörter

All German question words start with W! Wer, was, wo, wann, warum, wie, welcher... In English they start with WH (who, what, where, when, why). Same idea, different letter!

The structure is similar: W-word + verb + subject. Wo wohnst du? (Where live you?) The verb comes right after the W-word — always position 2!

English question words start with WH: who, what, where, when, why, which, how (the exception). German question words start with W: wer, was, wo, wann, warum, welcher, wie.

Why you need this You need question words for every conversation: asking for directions, ordering food, meeting people, getting information.

Wo wohnst du? Was machst du? Wer ist das?

Where do you live? What are you doing? Who is that?

W-word + verb + subject. The verb is always in position 2, just like in statements!

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Questions are how you learn! If you can ask questions, you can learn anything.

The W-Words

Die W-Wörter

All start with W! Learn these 10 words and you can ask about anything.

German	English	Example
wer	who	Wer ist das? (Who is that?)
was	what	Was machst du? (What are you doing?)
wo	where	Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
woher	where from	Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?)
wohin	where to	Wohin gehst du? (Where are you going?)
wann	when	Wann kommst du? (When are you coming?)
warum	why	Warum lernst du Deutsch? (Why do you learn German?)
wie	how	Wie heißt du? (What is your name? = How are you called?)
wie viel(e)	how much/many	Wie viel kostet das? (How much does that cost?)
welcher/e/es	which	Welche Sprache sprichst du? (Which language do you speak?)

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wo = where (location). woher = where from (origin). wohin = where to (direction). Three different words!

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wo = WHERE you are. woHER = where you come FROM (HER = from). woHIN = where you GO (HIN = to).

Common Mistakes

✗ Wo kommst du?

✓ Woher kommst du?

wo = where (location). woher = where FROM. For origin, use woher!
✗ Was ist dein Name?

✓ Wie heißt du?

German does not say What is your name. It says How are you called? = Wie heißt du?

W-Question Structure

Struktur von W-Fragen

W-word = position 1. Verb = position 2. Same rule as always!

Position 1 (W-word)	Position 2 (VERB)	Position 3+ (rest)
Wo	wohnst	du?
Was	machst	du heute?
Wer	ist	das?
Wann	kommst	du?
Warum	lernst	du Deutsch?
Wie	heißt	du?

Quick Reference

Kurzübersicht

Examples

Wie heißt du?

What is your name?

Wie

German says: How are you called? wie = how, heißt = are called.

Wort	Bedeutung
du	you
Wie	how (W-word, pos 1)
heißt	are called (verb, pos 2)

Wo wohnst du?

Where do you live?

wo = where (location). Asking about where you live NOW.

Wort	Bedeutung
Wo	where (pos 1)
du	you
wohnst	live (pos 2)

Woher kommst du?

Where are you from?

Woher

woher = where from. Asking about ORIGIN.

Wort	Bedeutung
du	you
Woher	where from (pos 1)
kommst	come (pos 2)

Was machst du?

What are you doing?

Was

was = what.

Wort	Bedeutung
du	you
Was	what (pos 1)
machst	do (pos 2)

Wer ist das?

Who is that?

Wer

wer = who.

Wort	Bedeutung
Wer	who (pos 1)
das	that
ist	is (pos 2)

Wann kommst du?

When are you coming?

Wann

wann = when.

Wort	Bedeutung
du	you
Wann	when (pos 1)
kommst	come (pos 2)

Warum lernst du Deutsch?

Why do you learn German?

Warum

warum = why.

Wort	Bedeutung
du	you
Warum	why (pos 1)
lernst	learn (pos 2)
Deutsch	German

Wie viel kostet das?

How much does that cost?

Wie viel

wie viel = how much. For prices and amounts.

Wort	Bedeutung
das	that
kostet	costs (pos 2)
Wie viel	how much (pos 1)

Practice Exercises

8 interactive exercises

Frage 1 von 8

___ heißt du?

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