German W-Questions (wer, was, wo, wann, wie, warum)
After this lesson you can ask for any piece of information you need.
Do this first: Verb position
Übungen
Eight exercises on what you just watched. Get 80% and the lesson is marked done and added to your A1 progress.
1 / 8 · Type the missing word
2 / 8 · Type the missing word
3 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
Who is coming today?
4 / 8 · Word order
Put the words in the right order.
What does that cost?
5 / 8 · Choose
Which W-word asks about a person?
6 / 8 · Choose
Which W-word asks about a thing?
7 / 8 · Choose
What does wann mean?
8 / 8 · Choose
What does warum mean?
In short
German question words all start with W: wer (who), was (what), wo (where), wann (when), warum (why), wie (how), woher (from where) and wohin (to where). The verb follows immediately in position two — "Wo wohnst du?"
How it works
W-Fragen — W-questions — are how you ask for information rather than a yes or a no. German has eight core ones and they all begin with W, which makes them unusually easy to remember as a set.
They pair up naturally. Wer and was split people from things: wer for people, was for everything else. Wo and wann split place from time. Warum and wie split reason from manner. And woher and wohin split origin from destination — a distinction English handles clumsily with "where from" and "where to", but German marks with two clean words.
The word order is the same one you learned in lesson 13. The W-word takes slot one, and the conjugated verb comes immediately after it in position two: Wo wohnst du? Was kostet das? Wann kommst du? You never need an extra helper word — German has no equivalent of the English "do" in "where do you live".
| German | English | Asks about | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| wer | who | a person | Wer kommt heute? |
| was | what | a thing | Was kostet das? |
| wo | where | a place | Wo wohnst du? |
| wann | when | a time | Wann kommst du? |
| warum | why | a reason | Warum lernst du Deutsch? |
| wie | how | a manner | Wie geht es dir? |
| woher | from where | origin | Woher kommst du? |
| wohin | to where | destination | Wohin gehst du? |
| Slot 1 (W-word) | Slot 2 (verb) | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Wo | wohnst | du? |
| Was | kostet | das? |
| Wann | beginnt | der Kurs? |
| Warum | lernst | du Deutsch? |
| Wie viel | kostet | das Ticket? |
Examples
- Wer kommt heute?Who is coming today?
- Was kostet das?What does that cost?
- Wo wohnst du?Where do you live?
- Wann kommst du?When are you coming?
- Warum lernst du Deutsch?Why are you learning German?
- Wie geht es dir?How are you?
- Woher kommst du?Where are you from?
- Wohin gehst du?Where are you going?
- Wie viel kostet das Ticket?How much does the ticket cost?
- Wie heißt du?What is your name?
Mistakes to avoid
✗ Wo kommst du? (meaning "where are you from")
✓ Woher kommst du?
Wo asks where you *are*. Woher asks where you come *from*. The single most common W-question error.
✗ Wo gehst du? (meaning "where are you going")
✓ Wohin gehst du?
Movement toward a place needs wohin. Wo is for staying put.
✗ Was ist dein Name? as the default
✓ Wie heißt du?
German asks *how* you are called, not *what* your name is. Was ist dein Name? is understood but sounds stiff and translated.
✗ Wo du wohnst?
✓ Wo wohnst du?
The verb must come straight after the W-word. Keeping statement order is the giveaway of a beginner.
Wortschatz
The words from this lesson.
| wer | who | |
| was | what | |
| wo | where (location) | |
| woher | from where (origin) | |
| wohin | to where (destination) | |
| wann | when | |
| warum | why | |
| wie | how | |
| wie viel | how much | |
| wie viele | how many |
Kulturnotiz
Wie geht es dir? — or the everyday Wie geht's? — is not the empty greeting that "How are you?" is in English. Ask a German and you may well get a real answer, including what is going wrong at work. Conversely, asking it of a stranger in a shop will read as oddly intimate. Save it for people you actually know.
Common questions
+What is the difference between wo, woher and wohin?
Wo is static location — Wo wohnst du? Woher is origin — Woher kommst du? Wohin is destination — Wohin gehst du? English uses "where" for all three, which is why learners collapse them.
+Why is there no German word for "do" in questions?
Because German changes word order instead. English needs the auxiliary "do" to form questions; German simply puts the verb in the right slot, so "Where do you live?" is just Wo wohnst du?
+How do I ask someone's name?
Wie heißt du? informally, Wie heißen Sie? formally. Literally "how are you called" — German uses wie, not was.
+When do I use wie viel vs wie viele?
Wie viel for uncountable amounts (Wie viel kostet das?), wie viele for countable things (Wie viele Kinder hast du?). The same split as "how much" and "how many".