JLPT N5 · Sentence patterns
どこ (doko)
どこ — “where”
In short · どこ is the question word for a place. Put it where the answer would go and end the sentence with か. It works with は (location), へ (destination) and で (place of an action).
Pattern
-
Aは＋どこ＋ですかWhere is A? (トイレはどこですか) -
どこ＋へ／で＋動詞ますかWhere to / where do you ～? (どこへ行きますか)
Asking where something is
トイレはどこですか asks about location. The answer replaces どこ: トイレはあそこです (The toilet is over there).
Asking about movement or action
どこへ行きますか asks the destination; どこで食べますか asks where the action happens. Replace どこ in the answer: 学校へ行きます.
Word order
In Japanese, the question word stays in the same place as the answer. You do not move it to the start, and you do not need a rising tone for the question; か is enough.
Examples
-
トイレは どこですか。
Toire wa doko desu ka.
Where is the toilet?
-
駅（えき）はどこですか。
Eki wa doko desu ka.
Where is the station?
-
あなたはどこへ行（い）きますか。
Anata wa doko e ikimasu ka.
Where are you going?
Common mistakes
- Do not forget か at the end of the question.
- どこ asks for a place. For a thing, use なに; for a person, use だれ; for a time, use いつ.
More grammar points
- だ / です だ / です — “A is B”
- でも でも — “but / however” at the start of a sentence
- どんな どんな～ — “what kind of ～”
- どうやって どうやって～ — asking “how / by what means”
- があります ～があります — “there is ～” (things)
- がほしい ～がほしい — “I want ～”
- がいます ～がいます — “there is ～” (people and animals)
- い-adjectives い-adjectives — adjectives ending in ～い
- 一緒（いっしょ）に 一緒に～ — “together (with)”
- じゃない・ではない ～じゃない / ～ではない — the negative of だ and です
- か～か A か B — “A or B”
- けど ～けど — casual “but / although”
- けれども ～けれども — a polite “but / although”
- な-adjectives な-adjectives — take な before a noun
- なる ～になる — “to become ～”
- んです ～んです — explaining the situation
- に行（い）く ～に行く — “go to do ～”
- にする ～にする — deciding on / choosing something
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