All three words on this page belong to the ど (do-) series, the interrogative branch of the こ・そ・あ・ど demonstrative family — the same ど that gives you どこ (where), どれ (which), and どう itself. English forces these three into just two buckets: our single word "how" has to cover both どう and どんな, and our single word "why" hides a three-way split — なぜ, どうして, なんで — that a Japanese speaker chooses between on the basis of politeness. Getting these right is less about grammar than about reading the social temperature of the moment.
どう — how, in what way, what about
どう is the adverbial ど-word. It asks about manner, means, or impression — "in what way / by what method / how do you find it." Because it is adverbial, it modifies verbs directly and sits in front of です to request an evaluation. It never attaches to a noun.
Four everyday jobs cover almost all of どう:
- Impression / evaluation — どうですか (how is it?), どうでしたか (how was it?)
- Means / manner — どうやって (in what way / by what means)
- Deliberation — どうしよう (what should I do — literally "how shall I act?")
- Suggestion / invitation — 〜はどう？ / 〜でもどう？ (how about ~?)
新しい仕事はどうですか。
atarashii shigoto wa dō desu ka
How's the new job (going)?
試験はどうでしたか。
shiken wa dō deshita ka
How was the exam?
駅までどうやって行けばいいですか。
eki made dō yatte ikeba ii desu ka
How should I get to the station?
どうしよう、電車が止まってる。
dō shiyō, densha ga tomatteru
What do I do — the trains have stopped. (informal)
週末、映画でもどう？
shūmatsu, eiga demo dō?
How about a movie or something this weekend? (informal)
どんな — what kind of (+ noun)
どんな always sits in front of a noun and asks about its type, category, or characteristics: "what kind of X." It is the ど-member of the こんな・そんな・あんな・どんな set (see こんな・そんな・あんな), which is why it ends in -んな, exactly parallel to どう → どんな, そう → そんな.
どんな音楽が好きですか。
donna ongaku ga suki desu ka
What kind of music do you like?
彼はどんな人ですか。
kare wa donna hito desu ka
What kind of person is he?
どんなお部屋をお探しですか。
donna o-heya o o-sagashi desu ka
What kind of room are you looking for? (polite, e.g. at a hotel or estate agent)
どう vs どんな — the split English can't see
This is the distinction that trips up every English speaker, because "how" and "what … like" blur together for us. The rule is clean once you see it: どう asks about the manner or your impression of something; どんな asks what type of thing it is. Compare the same topic under each:
| Question | Reading | What it asks |
|---|---|---|
| 京都はどうでしたか。 | Kyōto wa dō deshita ka | How was Kyoto? — your experience of it |
| 京都はどんな町ですか。 | Kyōto wa donna machi desu ka | What kind of town is Kyoto? — its characteristics |
京都はどうでしたか。
Kyōto wa dō deshita ka
How was Kyoto (did you enjoy it)?
京都はどんな町ですか。
Kyōto wa donna machi desu ka
What kind of town is Kyoto?
The three "why" words: なぜ・どうして・なんで
Here is the insight that saves you: なぜ, どうして, and なんで all mean the same thing — "for what reason." They are not different questions. They differ almost entirely in register and tone, so choosing among them is a politeness decision, not a meaning decision.
| Word | Register | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| なぜ | formal, written, academic | neutral, logical — "for what reason" |
| どうして | neutral — spoken and written | slightly emotional — "how come," "why is it that…" |
| なんで | casual, spoken | everyday, blunt — the default in conversation |
なぜ (naze) belongs to essays, news, formal speech, and reasoned argument. In conversation it can sound stiff or even interrogating.
なぜ日本では少子化が進んでいるのか。
naze nihon de wa shōshika ga susunde iru no ka
Why is the birth rate declining in Japan? (essay / news headline register)
どうして (dōshite) is the safe middle ground — natural in speech and in writing, and it often carries a touch of feeling, closer to English "how come." It is literally どう + して, "coming about how."
どうして遅れたの？
dōshite okureta no?
Why (how come) were you late?
どうして教えてくれなかったの？
dōshite oshiete kurenakatta no?
Why didn't you tell me?
なんで (nande) is the casual spoken default — what you actually say to friends and family.
なんで泣いてるの？
nande naiteru no?
Why are you crying? (casual)
For a full decision guide on picking between these three, see the dedicated page どう / どうして / なぜ. When you want to give a reason rather than ask for one, the matching connector is なぜなら — see なぜなら: because.
How this differs from English
English collapses distinctions that Japanese keeps separate, and keeps together things Japanese splits:
- Our one word "how" does the work of both どう (manner/impression) and どんな (type). English "What is he like?" and "What kind of person is he?" both map onto どんな人ですか, while "How is he (doing)?" maps onto どうですか.
- Our one word "why" hides the register ladder なぜ → どうして → なんで. English speakers reach for the most literal-looking word, なぜ, and end up sounding like a written report in a casual chat — or, worse, like they are cross-examining a friend.
- どうやって ("by what means") has no tidy one-word English equivalent; we say "how do I…?" and rely on context to mean "by what method," which is exactly the slice どうやって carves out.
Common mistakes
❌ 日本はどうな国ですか。
Incorrect — どう cannot attach to a noun with な.
✅ 日本はどんな国ですか。
nihon wa donna kuni desu ka
What kind of country is Japan?
❌ どう映画が好きですか。
Incorrect — this asks 'how,' not 'what kind of,' before a noun.
✅ どんな映画が好きですか。
donna eiga ga suki desu ka
What kind of movies do you like?
❌ （友達に）なぜ来なかったの？
Incorrect register — なぜ to a friend sounds stiff and accusatory, like an interrogation.
✅ なんで来なかったの？ / どうして来なかったの？
nande konakatta no? / dōshite konakatta no?
Why didn't you come? (natural casual register)
❌ （レポートで）なんで景気が悪いのか。
Incorrect register — なんで is too casual for an academic essay.
✅ なぜ景気が悪いのか。
naze keiki ga warui no ka
Why is the economy weak? (formal / written register)
❌ 週末はどんなでしたか。
Incorrect — どんな needs a following noun; standing alone before です it should be どう.
✅ 週末はどうでしたか。
shūmatsu wa dō deshita ka
How was your weekend?
The two errors to burn in: どう never becomes どうな (the pre-noun form is どんな), and the "why" word is a register dial, not a meaning switch — なぜ for the page, どうして for the middle, なんで for the couch.
Key takeaways
- どう = how / in what way / what's your impression; adverbial, never before a noun with な.
- どんな = what kind of; always immediately before a noun.
- なぜ / どうして / なんで all mean "why" and differ by register: formal → neutral → casual.
- Pick the "why" word by asking who am I talking to, not what do I mean.
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Start learning Japanese→Related Topics
- Question Words: An OverviewN5 — A tour of the Japanese interrogatives (疑問詞) — what, who, where, when, how, which, and why — and the crucial fact that, unlike English, they stay put in the sentence.
- こんな・そんな・あんな: Such a…N4 — The 'kind of' demonstratives こんな・そんな・あんな・どんな plus the degree adverbs こんなに・そんなに — including the dismissive emotional color そんな so often carries.
- どう / どうして / なぜ: How and WhyN4 — Building manner questions with どう (how / how about) and reason questions with the register-graded なんで, どうして, なぜ — plus why 'why' questions come coupled to explanatory 〜から / んです answers.