7.5 Open-Ended Questions Using the ます (masu) Form

Introduction to open-ended questions in the ます form

Open-ended questions are often used as effective icebreakers in everyday conversations. They are questions that start with question words, such as who, what, when, where, why and how. They invite detailed responses and allow for in-depth exploration of a topic, providing richer insights than closed-ended questions, which can be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

In Japanese, these are the key question words that are often used in open-ended questions in the ます form:

Please be aware that the character 何, which means ‘what’, can be pronounced as なに (nani) or なん (nan).

The basic form なに is used when it’s followed by particles such as を or が. In questions such as 何を食（た）べますか (What will you eat?) or 何が好（す）きですか (What do you like?), 何 is consistently pronounced なに. This pattern is particularly reliable when 何 is being used to ask about specific things or choices.

When 何 is used with counters, such as 時 for time, it is pronounced なん. For example, 何時 (what time) is pronounced なんじ (nan-ji), not なにじ (nani-ji). For a detailed explanation of the counter 時, refer to Module 7.2.

The なん reading is also used before words starting with the following hiragana characters. Here are common examples:

Before ね, の, め:

• 何年 (なんねん: nan-nen) – what year / how many years
• 何の (なんの: nanno) – what/which kind of …
• 何名様 (なんめいさま: nan-meisama) – how many people (used when addressing customers in a shop or restaurant)

Before に:

• 何日 (なんにち: nan-nichi) – what day / how many days
• 何人 (なんにん: nan-nin) – how many people

Before と, て:

• 何と (なんと: nanto) – how/what (expression of surprise)
• 何て (なんて: nante) – how/what (casual expression of surprise/emphasis)
• 何という (なんという: nantoiu) – what kind of / what a …

Before ど, だ, で:

• 何度 (なんど: nando) – what temperature / how many times
• 何だ (なんだ: nanda) – what is it? (casual)
• 何で (なんで: nande) – why/how
• 何でも (なんでも: nandemo) – anything/everything

Before よ:

• 何曜日 (なんようび) – what day of the week

In this chapter, we will use the conversational form どうやって  for ‘how’, rather than どのように, which is more formal and commonly found in written Japanese. .

Usage in sentences

To form open-ended questions in the polite ます form, integrate the 5W1H elements before the ます form of the key verb. Remember to add the question particle か at the end!

1. 何 – What

To ask someone about their plans for the weekend, you can start with a basic sentence structure like this:

週末（しゅうまつ）いつも Object をします。

Shuumatsu itsumo [Object] o shi masu.

[Subject] will always do [Object] on the weekend.

To turn this into a question, replace ‘Object’ with 何（なに, not なん in this case) for ‘what’, and add the question particle か at the end.

Don’t forget to include the particle を after the question word 何. So, the question becomes:

Once again, this structure uses を to link the verb to its direct object, that is, the activity being asked about.

2. 誰 – Who

This method can be adapted to various other question words.

Imagine you’re unsure about who is coming to your friend’s party tonight. To form your question, you can start with the following sentence structure:

Subject が来（き）ます。

[Subject] ga ki masu.

[Subject] will come.

To form the question, you simply replace ‘Subject’ with the question word 誰 for ‘who’, followed by the subject particle が. Then, add the question particle か at the end:

Please keep in mind that no additional particles are added after the question words いつ (itsu) for ‘when’, どうして (doushite) for ‘why’, and どうやって (douyatte) for ‘how’.

4. どこ – Where

For example, to ask ‘where’ someone always eats lunch, start with:

いつも Place でお昼（ひる）ご飯（はん）を食（た）べます。

Itsumo [Place] de ohiru gohan o tabe masu.

[Topic] will always eat lunch at/on/in [Place].

Then, replace ‘Place’ with どこ for ‘where’, but retain the particle で, which indicates the specific location where the action occurs, as discussed in Module 7.3: