Asking questions with W-words
In German, information questions usually begin with a "W-word," much like "Wh-words" in English. The most important rule to remember is word order: the W-word comes first, and the verb always comes in the second position.
Wer (Who) and Was (What)
Be careful with wer! It sounds like the English word "where," but it actually means "who."
| Who is the man? | Wer ist der Mann? |
| Who has the ticket? | Wer hat das Ticket? |
To ask "what," you will use was.
| What are you looking for? | Was suchen Sie? |
| What does the ticket cost? | Was kostet das Ticket? |
Wo (Where)
The word for "where" in German is wo. Just like the other W-questions, the conjugated verb immediately follows it.
| Where is the train station? | Wo ist der Bahnhof? |
| Where are we sleeping? | Wo schlafen wir? |
Wie (How)
The word wie directly translates to "how."
| How old is the child? | Wie alt ist das Kind? |
However, German sometimes uses wie where English speakers would expect "what." For example, when asking for someone's name, you are literally asking "How are you called?" or "How is the name?"
| What is your name? | Wie heißen Sie? |
| What is the name? | Wie ist der Name? |
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