dono e ga suki desu ka.

to be

Breakdown of dono e ga suki desu ka.

• か: question particle
• が: subject particle
• 好すき: like

Questions & Answers about dono e ga suki desu ka.

What does どの mean here, and how is it different from どれ?

どの means which, but it must be followed by a noun.

So:

• どの 絵 = which picture / which painting
• どれ = which one

That means you can say:

• どの絵が好きですか。 = Which picture do you like?
• どれが好きですか。 = Which one do you like?

Use どの when the thing being chosen is named right after it.

Why is 絵 included? Would どれが好きですか also work?

Yes, どれが好きですか could work if it is already clear that you are choosing from pictures.

But 絵 is included when the speaker wants to specify the category clearly: which picture.

So the difference is roughly:

• どれが好きですか。 = Which one do you like?
• どの絵が好きですか。 = Which picture do you like?

Japanese often leaves out words when the context makes them obvious, but including 絵 makes the question more specific.

Why is が used after 絵?