The English question word “what” is usually written as 何 in Kanji but sometimes it is pronounced as “なに” and other times as “なん”. Many people seem to think it’s random but there is a pattern, so today I will explain when it is “なに” and when it is “なん.”
Rule #1: When 何 is used on its own (i.e. followed by a particle or an auxiliary verb)
When it is used by itself, the default is “なに,” but when it is followed by one of the following 2, it changes to “なん”.
- ～です
- ～の
- ～と
| Japanese | ひらがな | English Translation |
| 何を食べますか | なにをたべますか | What would you eat? |
| 何が好きですか | なにがすきですか | What do you like? |
| 何ですか。 | なんですか (followed by です) | What is it? |
| 何の本ですか。 | なんのほんですか (followed by の) | What book is it? |
| 何といいますか | なんといいますか (followed by と) | What is it called? |
Rule #2: When 何 is part of a word (i.e. followed by another kanji character)
When 何 is followed by another kanji character, if the question is about the nature of the item (i.e. “what colour, what flavour, etc”) it is pronounced as “なに,” but when you are asking about the number of the items (“how many …)” it is read as “なん”.
| Japanese | ひらがな | English Translation |
| 何色が好きですか。 | なにいろがすきですか。 | What colour do you like? – asking about the nature |
| 何歳ですか。 | なんさいですか。 | How old are you? – asking about the number |
A tricky phrase is 何人.
Depending on the context, the pronunciation changes like below.
| Japanese | ひらがな | English Translation |
| ジョンさんは何人ですか。 | じょんさんはなにじんですか。 | What nationality is John? |
| 何人いますか。 | なんにんいますか。 | How many people are there? |
Exceptions to the Rule #2
| Japanese | ひらがな | English Translation |
| 何月ですか。 | なんがつですか。 | What month is it? |
| 何日ですか。 | なんにちですか。 | What date is it? |
| 何曜日ですか。 | なんようびですか。 | What day (of the week) is it? |
Nancy Wood
2 May 2022 at 12:33 amThis was very helpful and concise. Thank you!
admin
2 May 2022 at 10:02 amThank you for taking time to leave a comment!
Julia
30 May 2022 at 5:29 pmThank you for explaining it so well!
Question words | EasyJapaneseE
3 August 2021 at 6:40 pm[…] *For the difference between なん and なに, see this post. […]