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All Japanese activities

Activities: How to ask questions in Japanese?

By: Masaru Mito

Activity 1: Complete the sentences

Read the following situations and complete the sentence using the words provided in the word bank. Make sure to include an appropriate question word. You may also need to add some particles or adjust the form accordingly.

  1. Situation: Your friend went to watch a movie yesterday. You want to ask what they watched.

    Key word: 見る transcribed mirumeaning to watch

    昨日、。
    Kinō, ___.
    What did you watch yesterday?

  2. Situation: At the reception of your company, you saw a person you don’t know over there. You want to ask your colleague who they are.

    あの人は。
    Ano hito wa ___.
    Who is that person over there?

  3. Situation: You’re traveling in Japan. You’ve arrived at a station but cannot find the bathroom. Ask the staff where it is.

    Key word: ある transcribed arumeaning there is

    すみません。トイレは。
    Sumimasen. Toire wa ___.
    Excuse me, where is the restroom?

  4. Situation: Your friend took you to their favorite bakery. You cannot decide what to get because everything looks good. You want to ask your friend which one is the most delicious.

    Key words: 一番 transcribed ichi banmeaning the most, おいしい transcribed oishiimeaning delicious

    。
    ___.
    Which one is the most delicious?

  5. Situation: You’ve come to a shoe shop with your mom. You’re on the fence between red shoes and blue shoes. Ask her which one is better.

    Key word: いい transcribed iimeaning good

    赤と青、。
    Aka to ao, ___.
    Which one is better, red or blue?

  6. Situation: You’ve met a person who is very fluent in Japanese. You want to ask when they started studying Japanese.

    Key word: 勉強 transcribed benkyōmeaning studying

    始めたんですか。
    ___ hajimeta ndesu ka.
    When did you start studying?

  7. Situation: At a reception of your company, your colleague asked you to call Ms. Yamada over. However, you don’t know her. You want to ask your colleague which person Ms. Yamada is.

    Key word: 山田さん transcribed Yamada-sanmeaning Ms. Yamada

    。
    ___.
    Which person is Ms. Yamada?

  8. Situation: When talking with your colleague, you found that they love books too. You want to ask what kind of books they often read.

    Key words: 本 transcribed honmeaning book, 読む transcribed yomumeaning to read

    よく。
    Yoku ___.
    What kind of books do you often read?

  9. Situation: On campus, you saw a classmate who missed class yesterday. You want to ask why they were absent from class.

    Key word: 授業 transcribed jugyōmeaning class

    昨日、休んだんですか。
    Kinō, ___ yasunda ndesu ka.
    Why did you miss the class yesterday?

  10. Situation: You saw a classmate who came back from a trip. You want to ask how the trip was.

    Key word: 旅行 transcribed ryokōmeaning trip

    。
    ___.
    How was the trip?

  11. Situation: Your classmate always gets good grades on exams. You want to ask how long they study every day.

    Key word: 勉強する transcribed benkyō surumeaning to study

    毎日。
    Mainichi ___.
    How long do you study every day?

  12. Situation: You’re traveling in Japan. You found a nice T-shirt but it doesn’t have a price tag. You want to ask the staff how much this is.

    Key word: これ transcribed koremeaning this (one)

    すみません。。
    Sumimasen. ___.
    Excuse me. How much is this?

  13. Situation: You and your colleague are preparing for a reception. You’ve been asked to go get paper cups. You want to ask how many cups we need.

    Key word: 必要だ transcribed hitsuyō dameaning to need

    紙コップは。
    Kami koppu wa ___.
    How many paper cups do we need?

Activity 2: Choose the best form

Choose the most appropriate form in parentheses.

  1. 冷蔵庫には ( ／ ／ ) 入っていません。 Reizouko niwa ( nani ka / nani mo / nan demo ) haitte imasen. There isn’t anything in the refrigerator.

  2. 明日のワークショップは、 ( ／ ／ ) 入れますよ。 Ashita no wākushoppu wa, ( dare ka / dare mo / dare demo ) hairemasu yo. Anyone can join tomorrow's workshop.

  3. 夏休みは、 ( ／ ／ ) 行きませんでした。 Natsuyasumi wa, ( doko ka / doko mo / doko demo ) ikimasen deshita. I didn't go anywhere during the summer vacation.

  4. AからEの中で、 ( ／ ／ ) が正解です。 A kara E no naka de, ( dore ka / dore mo / dore demo ) ga seikai desu. Among A through E, one of them is the correct answer.

  5. 説明会は土曜と日曜にあるので、 ( ／ ／ ) に来てください。 Setsumei kai wa doyō to nichiyō ni aru node, ( dochira ka / dochira mo / dochira demo ) ni kite kudasai. Since the information session will be held on Saturday and Sunday, please come to either of them.