Lesson 4: Nan des' ka?

What?
Remember "O genki des' ka?" from lesson #3? (If not, go back and do a quick review before this lesson) Those words "Desu" (usually pronounced as "Des'" since you don't really hear that U) and "Ka" are important to learn. "Des'" means that something "is", "it is", "I am", "you are", "he is", etc. If I wanted to say "It's a cat" in Japanese, I'd say "Neko des'". "Ka" is a particle. That means that is a word that effects the meaning of another word or words in a sentence. This particular particle turns the sentence into a question. The question mark "?" is a new addition to the Japanese language. It's pretty common now, and in writing it is often used along with the "Ka", but that won't help you when you are speaking or listening to Japanese. If I take "Neko des'" and add "Ka" to make "Neko des' ka" I'm now asking "It's a cat?" Now maybe you are starting to see how these 2 little words can be very useful. Like to ask "Dare des' ka?" (Dah -reh) "Who is it?" and to answer "Violet des'" "It's Violet". Or "Nan des' ka?" (Nah-n) "What is it?". "Kimono des'", "It's a kimono". "Nan" can be used alone by changing it a little to "Nani" (Nah-nee), asking "Nani?" in Japanese is sort of like "Huh?" in English. OK, lets review before we try learning some more question words: Neko des' ka? = It's a cat?
Hai, neko des'. = Yes, it's a cat.
Dare des' ka? = Who is it?
Hime des'. = It's the princess.
Nan des' ka? = What is it?
Nani?! = What?!/Huh?!
Where"Where" in Japanese is "Doko" (doh-koh), so how do you ask "Where is it?"? "Doko des ka?" "Here" in Japanese is "Koko". I think by now you're figuring out how this works, so how would you say "It's here"? "Koko des'." "Itsu" is Japanese for "When". So, what does "Itsu des' ka?" mean? You say "When is it?"? That's correct, but, "des'" can also mean something "will be" in the future, so "Itsu des' ka?" can also mean "When will it be?". For something that is in the past, "des'" becomes "Deshita" (deh-shee-tah). "Itsu deshita ka?" "When was it?" So, you've learned Who, What, Where, and When, that leaves "Why?". Doushite (Dooh-shee-teh). "Doushite des' ka?" "Why is it?". I think that enough for this lesson, let's review:

Doko des' ka? = Where is it?
Koko des'. = It's here.
Itsu des' ka? = When is it?/When will it be?
Itsu deshita ka? = When was it?
Doushite des ke? = Why is it?/Why?
Be sure to practice! Watching some anime videos in Japanese is the most fun way to practice.