What in Japanese – Nande? Nani? Nandesuka? Nandayo?

If you live or consume Japanese material you may have heard the expression “Nani? Nande? Nandesuka? Nandayo? Nanda?” and many others that apparently mean “What?”. In this article we will do a very deep study related to these Japanese words.

All these words that we mention in the title of the article are derived from the nani ideogram [何] which means “what”, “how many”, “which” and many other expressions related to questions. The differences between them lie in the choice of particles and verbs.

Article content
- Differences between nande, nanda, nani
- Sample sentences involving nande, nani, nanda
- How to know if the reading is Nan or Nani?
- Using nani to ask what or how many
- Other words derived from nani kanji 

Differences between nande, nanda, nani

In Japanese there are many ways to express questions, opinions and even surprises using the “what” ideogram. If we are to ask “what” formally we can simply say nandesuka [何ですか], if we want to speak as informally as we can just say nani? [何?] That may give you an idea of ​​surprise.

Nanda [何だ] is nothing but an informal abbreviation of nandesuka, if you still have questions just read our article on desu [です] and da [だ]. Sometimes nanda [何だ] can be spoken exclamatively by passing on an idea of ​​“what is it?” Or a frustration, especially if you add the particle yo [よ] into a nandayo [何だよ].

Nandayo may mean “what is that?” But it is a very informal, rough and abrupt way. Women have the custom of saying also naniyo [何よ]. To better understand the meaning of yo in these expressions we recommend reading our article on ending sentences with particles.

The particle ne [ね] can still be used in expressions such as nandayone [何だよね] where the particle ne gives an idea of ​​agreement and affirmation. The particle ka [か] is always used when asking questions, but it is not always necessary. Everything will depend on the tone you pronounce the word nanda, nande, nani…

Although the particle gives the idea that too, when used in expressions involving nani [何] and other particles that precede nani, it gives an idea of ​​any or all. Already the particle de [で] of nande [何で] gives the idea of ​​“why?”, “What for?” And “how?” In an informal way.

In addition to nande [何で], there are other ways to write “why” such as doushite [如何して] which is a bit informal and naze [何故] which is formal. It seems rather complicated to understand the differences between these words, but with time and custom you get the hang of it.

Sample sentences involving nande, nani, nanda

To understand a little of the words we mentioned earlier, let’s leave several sentences that can help you understand their use. Let’s try to leave several examples of nande, nani, nanda and variations, as well as naze and doushite.

How to know if the reading is Nan or Nani?

The “what” ideogram has several readings such as: nani; nan; ka; na; do; i; ka. Some wonder when I will know that reading is nan instead of nani? Just watch if the next word starts with t, d or n, which in this case will be pronounced nan (Examples: Nanno 何の; Nandesuka 何ですか; Nande 何で; Nanto 何と).

If other particles follow the ideogram [何] as [が; を; も; ga; wo; mo] the reading will be nani. Of course, there are several exceptions for both cases, especially if what comes from the ideogram [何] is another kanji that forms a single word. There are cases where the two pronouns exist as in [何語], but beware that the meaning may change.

If what kanji proceeds from [何] is a counter, the pronunciation is nan (Examples: Nannin 人人; Nankai 何回; Nandai 何台; Nanmai 何枚). If followed by a noun you use nani (nani-iro 何色), of course there are exceptions like nanyoubi [何曜日].

Using nani to ask what or how many

The Japanese “what” [何] ideogram is often used in conjunction with other words to ask certain things such as:

Other words derived from nani kanji

To end the article we will share a list of words related to questions that derive from the nani ideogram [何]: