Questions

Asking and answering questions is fundamental to conversation. Every interaction — from ordering coffee to negotiating a contract — involves questions. German questions follow predictable patterns, and mastering them will make you a confident conversationalist. This section covers all question types: yes/no questions, information questions (with question words), and indirect questions.

Yes/No questions

Yes/no questions (also called closed questions) expect a "yes" or "no" answer. In German, form them by moving the conjugated verb to the beginning of the sentence. The subject follows immediately. No helping verb like English "do" is needed:

Statement	Question
Du hast Zeit.	Hast du Zeit?
(You have time.)	(Do you have time?)
Sie kommen morgen.	Kommen Sie morgen?
(You are coming tomorrow.)	(Are you coming tomorrow?)
Das ist richtig.	Ist das richtig?
(That is correct.)	(Is that correct?)

Answering yes/no questions

German has more ways to say "yes", "no", and "maybe" than you might expect. Using varied responses makes your German sound more natural and nuanced. Here are common options for each:

Affirmative answers:

German	English
Ja.	Yes.
Ja, natürlich.	Yes, of course.
Ja, gern.	Yes, gladly.
Sicher.	Certainly.
Genau.	Exactly.
Stimmt.	That's right.

Negative answers:

German	English
Nein.	No.
Nein, leider nicht.	No, unfortunately not.
Nein, danke.	No, thank you.
Nicht wirklich.	Not really.
Ich glaube nicht.	I don't think so.

Uncertain answers:

German	English
Vielleicht.	Maybe.
Ich weiß nicht.	I don't know.
Es kommt darauf an.	It depends.
Möglicherweise.	Possibly.

W-questions (information questions)

W-questions (so called because most question words begin with "W" in German, just as they do with "Wh" in English) ask for specific information rather than yes/no. The question word occupies position one, the verb takes position two, and the subject follows. Mastering these question words lets you gather any information you need.

Question words

German has question words for every type of information: who, what, where, when, why, how, which. Note that "who" has different forms for different cases (wer, wen, wem, wessen), reflecting the case system you learned earlier:

German	English	Example
Wer?	Who?	Wer ist das? (Who is that?)
Wen?	Whom? (accusative)	Wen siehst du? (Whom do you see?)
Wem?	To whom? (dative)	Wem gibst du das? (To whom are you giving that?)
Wessen?	Whose?	Wessen Buch ist das? (Whose book is that?)
Was?	What?	Was machst du? (What are you doing?)
Wo?	Where? (location)	Wo bist du? (Where are you?)
Wohin?	Where to?	Wohin gehst du? (Where are you going?)
Woher?	Where from?	Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?)
Wann?	When?	Wann kommst du? (When are you coming?)
Warum?	Why?	Warum fragst du? (Why do you ask?)
Wieso?	Why? (informal)	Wieso nicht? (Why not?)
Wie?	How?	Wie geht es dir? (How are you?)
Wie viel?	How much?	Wie viel kostet das? (How much does it cost?)
Wie viele?	How many?	Wie viele Geschwister hast du? (How many siblings do you have?)
Wie lange?	How long?	Wie lange dauert es? (How long does it take?)
Wie oft?	How often?	Wie oft trainierst du? (How often do you train?)
Welcher?	Which? (m)	Welcher Film gefällt dir? (Which film do you like?)
Welche?	Which? (f/pl)	Welche Farbe magst du? (Which colour do you like?)
Welches?	Which? (n)	Welches Buch liest du? (Which book are you reading?)

Structure of W-questions

W-questions follow a rigid structure: question word first, then verb in position two, then subject. This is the same verb-second rule you learned for statements, with the question word occupying position one:

[Question word] + [Verb] + [Subject] + [Rest]

• Was machst du heute Abend? — What are you doing this evening?
• Wohin fährst du im Urlaub? — Where are you going on holiday?
• Warum lernst du Deutsch? — Why are you learning German?

Common question patterns

These are the questions you'll use most often in real conversations. Learn both the question and the typical answer pattern — this way you're prepared for both asking and responding. Practice these until they become automatic.

About people

These questions come up in nearly every introduction and getting-to-know-you conversation. Notice the formal (Sie) and informal (du) versions:

Question	Answer pattern
Wie heißen Sie? / Wie heißt du?	Ich heiße...
(What is your name?)	(My name is...)
Woher kommen Sie? / Woher kommst du?	Ich komme aus...
(Where are you from?)	(I come from...)
Was machen Sie beruflich? / Was machst du beruflich?	Ich bin... / Ich arbeite als...
(What do you do for work?)	(I am... / I work as...)
Wie alt sind Sie? / Wie alt bist du?	Ich bin... Jahre alt.
(How old are you?)	(I am... years old.)
Sind Sie verheiratet? / Bist du verheiratet?	Ja, ich bin verheiratet. / Nein, ich bin ledig.
(Are you married?)	(Yes, I'm married. / No, I'm single.)

About things

These questions are useful for shopping, troubleshooting, and general curiosity about objects and how they work:

Question	Meaning
Was ist das?	What is that?
Wie funktioniert das?	How does that work?
Wo kann ich das kaufen?	Where can I buy that?
Wie viel kostet das?	How much does that cost?
Haben Sie das in einer anderen Größe?	Do you have that in another size?

About time

Time-related questions are essential for scheduling, transportation, and daily planning. "Wie spat ist es?" (What time is it?) and "Wann...?" (When...?) will serve you constantly:

Question	Meaning
Wie spät ist es?	What time is it?
Wann öffnet das Geschäft?	When does the shop open?
Wie lange dauert die Fahrt?	How long does the journey take?
Um wie viel Uhr beginnt der Film?	What time does the film start?

About places

Navigation and location questions are vital for getting around. Remember the distinction between "Wo?" (where at — location) and "Wohin?" (where to — destination):

Question	Meaning
Wo ist der Bahnhof?	Where is the train station?
Wie komme ich zum Flughafen?	How do I get to the airport?
Gibt es hier ein Restaurant?	Is there a restaurant here?
Ist es weit von hier?	Is it far from here?

Indirect questions

Indirect questions embed a question within a larger sentence — "Can you tell me where the station is?" rather than "Where is the station?" This is more polite and common in formal situations. The key grammar change: the verb moves to the end of the embedded clause, following the subordinate clause rule:

Direct question	Indirect question
Wo ist der Bahnhof?	Können Sie mir sagen, wo der Bahnhof ist?
(Where is the station?)	(Can you tell me where the station is?)
Wann kommt der Zug?	Ich weiß nicht, wann der Zug kommt.
(When does the train come?)	(I don't know when the train comes.)
Wie viel kostet das?	Ich möchte wissen, wie viel das kostet.
(How much does it cost?)	(I would like to know how much it costs.)

For yes/no questions, use ob (whether):

Direct question	Indirect question
Kommt er heute?	Ich frage mich, ob er heute kommt.
(Is he coming today?)	(I wonder whether he's coming today.)
Haben Sie ein Zimmer frei?	Ich möchte wissen, ob Sie ein Zimmer frei haben.
(Do you have a room available?)	(I would like to know if you have a room available.)

Tag questions

English uses complex tag questions that match the main verb ("You're coming, aren't you?", "He doesn't know, does he?"). German is simpler — it uses fixed phrases that work with any statement. "Oder?" (or?), "nicht wahr?" (isn't that so?), and "stimmt's?" (right?) can follow any statement:

German	English equivalent
..., oder?	..., right? / ..., or?
..., nicht wahr?	..., isn't that so?
..., stimmt's?	..., correct?
..., ja?	..., yes?

Examples:

• Das ist dein Buch, oder? — That's your book, right?
• Du kommst morgen, nicht wahr? — You're coming tomorrow, aren't you?
• Es ist kalt heute, ja? — It's cold today, isn't it?

Rhetorical questions

Rhetorical questions don't expect an answer — they make a point or express an emotion. German uses these frequently in conversation. Knowing them helps you understand native speakers and adds expressiveness to your own German:

German	Meaning
Wer weiß?	Who knows?
Was soll ich sagen?	What can I say?
Warum nicht?	Why not?
Wie konnte das passieren?	How could that happen?
Wer hätte das gedacht?	Who would have thought?

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