German Asking Questions Vocabulary
This set covers the German question words you need to ask anything at all: wer, was, wo, wie, warum, plus the everyday verbs fragen (to ask) and antworten (to answer). One trap for English speakers: German splits "where" into wo (location), woher (where from), and wohin (where to), so "Where are you going?" is Wohin gehst du?, not Wo gehst du?.
Learn these 19 words
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All 19 words
answer, reply
Er antwortet nicht. — He does not answer.
- bittenA1
to ask, request
Darf ich Sie um etwas bitten? — May I ask you for something?
- warumA1
why
Warum kommt er nicht? — Why isn't he coming?
- wasA1
what
Was ist das? — What is that?
- welchA1
which, what
Welches Buch möchtest du? — Which book do you want?
- werA1
who
Wer ist das? — Who is that?
- wieA1
how, as
Wie heißt du? — What is your name? / How are you called?
- wie vielA1
how much
Wie viel Milch nehmen Sie? — How much milk are you taking?
- woA1
where
Wo waren Sie im Urlaub? — Where were you on holiday?
- woherA1
where from
Woher kommen Sie? — Where are you from?
- wohinA1
where to
Wohin fährt dieser Bus? — Where is this bus going?
- fragenA2
ask
Er fragt, wann er kommen kann. — He asks when he can come.
plural: die Fragezeichen
question mark
Am Satzende steht ein Fragezeichen. — There is a question mark at the end of the sentence.
- wer wenA2
who whom
Wer ist das? — Who is that?
inquire, ask
Hast du dich schon nach einem Zug erkundigt? — Have you already inquired about a train?
plural: die Fragen
question
Ich habe Ihre Frage leider nicht verstanden. — Unfortunately I didn't understand your question.
to ask again / inquire further
Bei Problemen sollten Sie sofort nachfragen. — If there are problems, you should ask right away.
plural: die Antworten
answer
Ich brauche eine klare Antwort von dir. — I need a clear answer from you.
plural: die Fragen
question
Ich habe eine Frage an den Lehrer. — I have a question for the teacher.
How to learn this set
Group wo, woher, and wohin together and drill them with actual movement: point at a map and ask wohin, point at someone's hometown and ask woher. Notice that fragen, bitten, and erkundigen sit on a spectrum from neutral question to formal inquiry, so practice them in that order rather than as isolated flashcards. Both nouns for question and answer, die Frage and die Antwort, are feminine, which makes the plural predictable: Fragen, Antworten, no surprises there. For nachfragen, remember it's just fragen with nach- bolted on for "ask again" or "follow up," so once fragen is solid, this one is nearly free.
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Frequently asked questions
Was ist der Unterschied zwischen fragen and bitten?
fragen means to ask a question, something you want information about. bitten means to ask for something, a request or favor. 'Ich frage dich etwas' asks a question; 'Ich bitte dich um etwas' asks for a thing or action.
Is wer wen a real word pair or just wer and wen listed together?
It's a fixed phrase drilled together because German learners mix up wer (who, the subject) and wen (whom, the object) constantly. If you can't tell 'Wer sieht wen?' apart, this pair is the fix, not two separate vocab items.
Why does welch- change its ending?
welch- takes regular adjective endings depending on the noun's gender and case, so you'll see welcher, welches, welche depending on context. The base form welch just marks the root you attach those endings to.
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