German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
Question Words (Fragewörter)
German has many question words, and they often confuse learners. This article, however, will clarify the meaning and use of the different question words. Let's get started!
In German, question words (Fragewörter) introduce W-questions (W-Frage). Questions that begin with the question words was, wann, warum, wie, wie lange, wie oft, wie viel, wo, wo her, wohin… cannot be answered with a negative or affirmative (Ja/Nein) but require specific information. Below are the usage and meaning of the question words (Fragewörter):
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Question word (Fragewörter) |
Example |
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Was (what) Asks about things |
Was ist das? Das ist ein Auto. (What is that? That is a car.) |
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Wann (when, at what time…) Asks about time |
Wann fährt Lisa zu ihrer Tante? Lisa fährt morgen zu ihrer Tante. (When is Linh going to her aunt's house? Linh is going to her aunt's house tomorrow.) |
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Warum (why) Asks about the reason |
Warum fährt Linh zu ihrer Tante? Ihre Tante ist krank. (Why is Linh going to her aunt's house? Because Linh's aunt is sick.) |
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Wie (how) Asks about the manner |
Wie fährt Linh zu ihrer Tante? Linh fährt mit dem Fahrrad. (How does Linh get to her aunt's place? Linh goes by bicycle.) |
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Wie lange (how long) Asks about duration |
Wie lange fährt Linh zu ihrer Tante? Linh fährt zwei Stunden. (How long does it take to get to Linh's aunt's house? Linh cycles for two hours.) |
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Wie oft Asks about frequency |
Wie oft fährt Linh zu ihrer Tante? Linh fährt zweimal in der Woche. (How often does Linh go to her aunt's? Linh goes there twice a week.) |
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Wie viel (how much) Asks about amount/quantity |
Wie viel hat Linhs Fahrrad gekostet? Linhs Fahrrad hat 500 Euro gekostet. (How much did Linh's bicycle cost? Linh's bicycle cost 500 euros.) |
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Wo (where) Asks about place |
Wo wohnt Linhs Tante? Linhs Tante wohnt in Dong Da. (Where does Linh's aunt live? Linh's aunt lives in Dong Da.) |
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Woher/ Wohin (from where/to where) Asks about direction |
Woher kommt Linh und wohin fährt sie? Linh kommt aus Hoang Mai und fährt nach Dong Da. (Where does Linh come from and where is she going? Linh comes from Hoang Mai and goes to Dong Da.) |
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Wie alt/jung? (asks about age) |
Wie alt ist Linh? (How old is Linh?) |
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Wie lang? Wie breit? Wie hoch? Wie tief? (asks about dimensions) |
Wie lang ist der Lkw? (How long is the truck?) Wie breit ist der Fluss? (How wide is the river?) Wie hoch ist das Gebäude? (How tall is the building?) Wie tief ist der See? (How deep is the lake?) |
In addition, there are question words formed by Wo(r) + a preposition (wovon, woran, womit, worüber, worauf). Wo- combined with a preposition is used in questions about the object of the preposition (for what purpose, about what…). In these combinations, Wo does not mean "where". When the object of the preposition is a thing, we must use Wo- + preposition to ask about it.
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Wo(r) + preposition |
Example |
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Worüber |
Worüber sprichst du? (What are you talking about?) |
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Womit |
Womit fährt er gern? (What does he like to travel by?) |
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Worauf |
Worauf wartest du? (What are you waiting for?) |
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Wovon |
Wovon träumst du? (What do you dream of?) |
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Woran |
Woran denken Sie? (What are you thinking about, sir/madam?) |
