Today's words · ❓ Question words

Who, what, where? 10 German question words

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Almost every German question starts with a W. Learn these ten and you can ask about anything.

My first week in Germany: I want to ask the price at the bakery and nothing comes out. I need directions and can't remember ‘where’. Then a new friend asks “Woher kommst du?” and wo and woher get tangled in my head.

Today's ten words are the German question words: who, what, where, when, why, how… With them you can steer the conversation yourself — and people who ask questions learn faster. ❓

🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks

wer

[VAIR]who

((dat. wem, acc. wen))

📌 Wer ist das?

→ Who's that?

💡 It means who, but it looks like where — a classic trap 🕵️

⚠ wer = who, not where! The other forms are wem (to whom) and wen (whom).

was

[VAHSS]what

📌 Was machst du heute?

→ What are you doing today?

💡 Same root as English what 🤔 German W sounds like V: ‘vahss’.

Bonus In speech it can mean ‘something’: Ich hab was gefunden.

wo

[VOH]where

📌 Wo wohnst du?

→ Where do you live?

💡 English where, cut short 📍 For location, use wo.

⚠ ‘Where to’ is wohin and ‘where from’ is woher; wo is just ‘where (at)’.

wann

[VAHN]when

📌 Wann beginnt der Kurs?

→ When does the course start?

💡 Same root as English when ⏰ At what time? = Um wie viel Uhr?

⚠ For a past ‘when…’ clause, use als, not wann: Als ich klein war…

warum

[vah-ROOM]why

📌 Warum lernst du Deutsch?

→ Why are you learning German?

💡 Imagine a curious child asking ‘vah-ROOOM?’ again and again 🧐

Bonus Answer with weil: Weil ich in Deutschland wohne.

wie

[VEE]how; like, as

📌 Wie heißt du?

→ What's your name?

💡 In the most common questions: Wie geht's? Wie heißt du? 🙋

⚠ Comparisons use als, not wie: größer als (bigger than).

woher

[voh-HAIR]where from

📌 Woher kommst du?

→ Where are you from?

💡 wo + her (towards here) = from where to here? 🧳

Bonus Answer: Ich komme aus England.

wohin

[voh-HIN]where (to)

📌 Wohin fährst du im Urlaub?

→ Where are you going on holiday?

💡 wo + hin (away from here) = where to? 🚀 her comes to me, hin goes away.

Bonus In speech it often splits: Wo gehst du hin?

welcher

[VEL-kher]which, what

(welch- (welcher, welche, welches) · = welch, -e, -er, -es)

📌 Welche Farbe magst du?

→ What color do you like?

💡 Same root as English which 👉 For choosing between options.

⚠ The ending changes like an article: welcher Bus, welche Farbe, welches Buch.

wie viel

[VEE FEEL]how much

(= wieviel)

📌 Wie viel kostet das?

→ How much does it cost?

💡 wie (how) + viel (much) = how much 💶 Essential for shopping.

Bonus For countable plurals: wie viele? = how many? Wie viele Kinder hast du?

🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture

In Germany, “Wie geht's?” is often a real question, not just a greeting. With friends it's fine to answer honestly: “Nicht so gut, ich bin müde.” On the other hand, people don't usually ask it automatically to strangers.

If you didn't catch something, “Wie bitte?” sounds much more polite than “Was?”. Germans generally don't mind questions, so if you're unsure, just ask with a W-word. 🙋

✅ Quick quiz

Q. You've just met someone and want to ask which country they're from.

① Woher kommst du?
② Wohin fährst du?
③ Wann kommst du?

Show the answer

① Woher kommst du?
Woher kommst du? = Where are you from? Use woher to ask about origin.

Make five questions with today's W-words and say them out loud — talking to yourself counts! ❓

🔜 Tomorrow's topic: ⚖️ Quantity & degree