How to say 'What' in Japanese | 何

Wondering how to say 'What' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for What is 'Nani', written as 何 in Japanese.'What' in hiragana is なに.

word

何

Meaning

What

Reading

なに

nani

Kanji

何What

Explanation

The Japanese pronoun '何 (なに)' means 'what'. It is used to ask questions about things, objects, or abstract concepts. It is a versatile word that can be used in various contexts, such as asking for information, clarification, or identification. For example: What is this?「これは何？」(これはなに？). What are you doing?「何をしているの？」(なにをしているの？). It can also be used in expressions like '何でも (なにでも)' meaning 'anything' or 'whatever'. Note that '何' can also be read as 'なん' in certain contexts, such as when followed by certain particles or in specific phrases, but the meaning remains the same.

Part Of Speech

pronoun

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

Composition

kanji

Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 何

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

何

Meaning

What

Words Related to 何 Through the Kanji 何

These 27 Words contain the Kanji 何 as well.

word

何時

Meaning

When

word

何処

Meaning

Where

word

何の

Meaning

Which

word

何故

Meaning

Why

word

何れ

Meaning

Which, Eventually

word

何方

Meaning

Where, Which

word

何か

Meaning

Something

word

何度

Meaning

How many times, What degree

word

如何に

Meaning

How

word

如何

Meaning

What, How

word

如何なる

Meaning

Any

word

何事

Meaning

Matter, Incident

word

何しろ

Meaning

Anyway

word

何とか

Meaning

Somehow

word

何より

Meaning

Best

word

何と

Meaning

What, How

word

何となく

Meaning

Somehow

word

何だか

Meaning

Somehow

word

何で

Meaning

Why

word

何て

Meaning

How

word

何千

Meaning

Thousands

word

何百

Meaning

Hundreds

word

何十

Meaning

Dozens

word

何者

Meaning

What, Who

word

何時頃

Meaning

When

word

何物

Meaning

Something

word

何遍

Meaning

Times, How many times

Learn the Word 何

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What does 'Nani' (何) mean?

'Nani' means 'What' .

To help you master this word, here's an interactive lesson where you'll practice its readings and meanings.