Questions and Demonstratives
Asking How and Asking for Opinions
どう is an everyday question word used to ask about the state of something, ask for someone's opinion, or ask how an action is performed. It functions as an adverb, which means it modifies verbs or acts as the predicate with a copula like ですか, rather than attaching directly to a noun. You will encounter it very early in your Japanese studies in essential questions like どうですか ("how is it?") and どうしますか ("what will you do?").
01Main Functions
Asking for an Impression or Opinion
You can use どう with a topic to ask for someone's thoughts or feelings about it. This is often translated as "what do you think of" or "how is".
日本の生活はどうですか。
How is life in Japan?
Asking about a State or Condition
You can use どう to check on a situation or someone's condition, often asking "how is it going" or "how are things".
今日の天気はどうですか。
How is the weather today?
Asking About Methods or Choices
When paired with a verb, どう asks how an action is performed or what course of action will be taken.
これからどうしますか。
What will (you) do from now on?
02Sentence Pattern
noun + は + どうですか
新しい仕事はどうですか。
How is the new job?
The noun marked by は is the topic being asked about. どうですか asks for the listener's opinion or the condition of that topic.
noun + は + どう
学校はどう？
How is school?
In casual speech, the polite ですか is dropped, and you simply end the question with どう and a rising intonation.
どう + しますか
明日はどうしますか。
What will (you) do tomorrow?
When どう modifies the verb しますか, it asks what choice will be made or how the action will unfold. It is often translated as "what will you do?".
どう + する
明日はどうする？
What will (you) do tomorrow?
This is the casual version of どうしますか, using the dictionary form of the verb with a rising intonation.
どう + 思いますか
この本についてどう思いますか。
What do (you) think about this book?
While English uses "what" in "what do you think", Japanese uses どう, literally asking "how" you think about it.
どう + 思う
これ、どう思う？
What do (you) think of this?
In casual conversations, you can combine どう with the dictionary form 思う to ask a friend for their opinion.
noun + は + どうでしたか
昨日のテストはどうでしたか。
How was the test yesterday?
To ask about how a condition or event was in the past, simply change ですか to the past polite form でしたか.
03Example Sentences
新しい仕事はどうですか。
How is the new job?
The noun marked by は is the topic being asked about. どうですか asks for the listener's opinion or the condition of that topic.
学校はどう？
How is school?
In casual speech, the polite ですか is dropped, and you simply end the question with どう and a rising intonation.
明日はどうしますか。
What will (you) do tomorrow?
When どう modifies the verb しますか, it asks what choice will be made or how the action will unfold.
日曜日、どうする？
What will (we) do on Sunday?
This is the casual version of どうしますか, using the dictionary form of the verb with a rising intonation.
この本についてどう思いますか。
What do (you) think about this book?
While English uses "what" in "what do you think", Japanese uses どう, literally asking "how" you think about it.
これ、どう思う？
What do (you) think of this?
In casual conversations, you can combine どう with the dictionary form 思う to ask a friend for their opinion.
昨日のテストはどうでしたか。
How was the test yesterday?
To ask about how a condition or event was in the past, simply change ですか to the past polite form でしたか.
週末の旅行はどうだった？
How was the weekend trip?
To ask about a past condition or event in casual speech, use the past casual form だった after どう.
今日の天気はどうですか。
How is the weather today?
どう is frequently used to check on the current state or condition of something, like the weather.
コーヒーはどうですか。
How about coffee?
You can use どうですか to offer something to someone or suggest an option.
日本の生活はどうですか。
How is life in Japan?
Asking for a general impression or feeling about an ongoing experience.
どうしましたか。
What happened?
When used in the past tense without a clear topic, どうしましたか is a set phrase meaning "what happened?" or "what is wrong?".
04Comparisons
どう vs. どんな
Both words can translate to forms of "how" or "what" in English, but they have different grammatical rules. どんな means "what kind of" and must be attached directly before a noun. どう is an adverb meaning "how" or "in what state" and is used to modify verbs or act as a predicate with the polite copula ですか.
どんな本が好きですか。
What kind of books do (you) like?
日本の生活はどうですか。
How is life in Japan?
どう vs. どうやって
While both words translate to "how," they ask about different things. どう is a broad question word used to ask about a state, impression, opinion, or general choice. どうやって specifically asks for the physical method, process, or steps used to perform an action, translating closer to "by what means."
明日はどうしますか。
What will (you) do tomorrow?
駅までどうやって行きますか。
How do (I) get to the station?
どう vs. いかが
いかが is the formal equivalent of どう. It serves the same basic question function, but it sounds more formal and more deferential, especially in customer service or when showing respect to a superior or someone you do not know well. In everyday polite speech, どう is perfectly acceptable and natural.
コーヒーはどうですか。
How about coffee?
コーヒーはいかがですか。
Would (you) care for some coffee?
05Nuance and Usage
どう is an incredibly versatile word used to inquire about states, feelings, opinions, and future plans. It fundamentally asks "in what state" or "in what manner." When someone asks 新しい仕事はどうですか (How is the new job?), they are inviting you to share your subjective impression or the current status of the situation. It acts as a conversational opener that allows the listener to respond with adjectives (such as 忙しい or 楽しい) or general updates.
While English speakers often rely on the word "what" to ask for opinions or plans—such as "what do you think?" or "what will you do?"—Japanese uses どう to ask "how" you think or "in what way" you will act. This means phrases like どう思いますか and どうしますか are standard and natural. Trying to translate "what" literally as 何 in these phrases will sound unnatural to Japanese speakers.
The level of politeness significantly changes how you frame your question with どう. In everyday polite speech, attaching ですか to form どうですか is the most common approach for nouns. When speaking casually with friends or family, you can simply drop the ですか and use どう with a rising intonation. If you find yourself in a very formal setting, such as speaking to a superior, you should upgrade どう to its formal equivalent いかが to show proper respect.
06Core Explanation
どう is an everyday question word used to ask about the state of something, ask for someone's opinion, or ask how an action is performed.
どう is an essential Japanese question word used to ask about the state of something, ask for an opinion, or ask how an action will be performed. It is a rough counterpart to "how", "in what way", or "what do you think" in English. Because it is an adverb, it works alongside verbs or acts as the main question word right before the copula ですか.
When you want to ask for someone's thoughts on a topic or ask about the condition of something, you will use the pattern "noun + は + どうですか". The particle は marks the topic, and どうですか asks for the listener's evaluation. For example, to ask about a new job, you would say 新しい仕事はどうですか ("How is the new job?"). In casual speech with friends, you can drop the ですか and simply ask どう？ with a rising intonation.
どう also commonly pairs with verbs to ask about choices, methods, or future actions. A very common phrase is どうしますか, which means "what will (you) do?". Notice that while English uses the word "what" in this context, Japanese uses どう to ask "how" or in what manner you will proceed. Another high-frequency phrase is どう思いますか ("what do (you) think?"), where どう modifies the verb 思う.
A common beginner mistake is confusing どう with どんな. It is important to remember that どう is an adverb and cannot be placed directly before a noun. If you want to ask "what kind of book", you must use どんな本ですか. If you try to say どう本, the grammar breaks because どう cannot attach to nouns in that way. Use どう when asking about the state of something as a predicate or when modifying a verb.
You might also wonder about similar words like どうやって and いかが. どうやって is specifically used to ask about the physical method or process of doing something, roughly translating to "by what means" or "how do I do this action". どう has a broader scope that includes asking about states, opinions, and general choices. Meanwhile, いかが is the formal, highly polite equivalent of どう. You will hear いかがですか in formal service settings, but in everyday life, どうですか is the natural choice.
07Common Mistakes
Wrong
どう本ですか。
Correct
どんな本ですか。
Why: どう is an adverb and cannot attach directly to a noun. To ask "what kind of" noun, you must use どんな.
Wrong
この映画について何と思いますか。
Correct
この映画についてどう思いますか。
Why: When asking for an opinion, Japanese expresses this by asking "how" you think using どう, not "what" you think using 何.
Wrong
日本の生活は何ですか。
Correct
日本の生活はどうですか。
Why: 何ですか asks for a definition ("What is Japanese life?"). To ask for an impression or ask "How is Japanese life?", you must use どうですか.
Wrong
週末の旅行はどうだったですか。
Correct
週末の旅行はどうでしたか。
Why: Use どうでしたか for polite past questions with どう; do not attach ですか after だった.
Wrong
私の日本語はどうですかしますか。
Correct
私の日本語はどうですか。
Why: どうですか already includes the copula ですか. Adding a verb like しますか directly after ですか is ungrammatical.
Wrong
どうはいいですか。
Correct
どうですか。
Why: どう is an adverb and cannot be the subject of a sentence marked by は or が. If you are asking for an evaluation, simply use どうですか.
08Questions
Can I use どう as a noun?
No, どう acts as an adverb. It modifies verbs or is paired with a copula (like ですか). It cannot take particles like は or が as a subject.
Why do Japanese people say どう思いますか instead of 何と思いますか?
Japanese conceptualizes opinions as a manner of thinking rather than a distinct object. Therefore, you are literally asking "how" (どう) someone thinks about a topic, rather than "what" (何) they think.
What does どうしましたか mean?
When used on its own, どうしましたか is a common set phrase that means "What happened?" or "What's wrong?". It is used when you notice someone looks troubled or unwell.
09Mini Practice
- 01
新しい先生は（ ）ですか。
- 02
今日の天気は____ですか。
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
- 03
What do (you) think about this book?
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
- 04
どう車が好きですか。
- 05
（友達に）学校は（ ）？
- 06
これから____する？
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
- 07
日本の生活は何ですか。
- 08
How was the test yesterday?
Tap the pieces in the correct order.
Summary
Learner Summary
- どう is a question word used to ask about states, opinions, and choices.
- Use "noun + は + どうですか" to ask for an impression or update on a topic, such as "How is the new job?".
- Use どう with verbs like しますか or 思いますか to ask about future actions ("what will you do?") and opinions ("what do you think?").
- Unlike English which often uses "what" for opinions and plans, Japanese uses どう (how) for these expressions.
- どう is an adverb and cannot be placed directly in front of a noun; to ask "what kind of," use どんな instead.
- In formal or polite situations, いかが is used instead of どう to show greater respect.
10Study Map
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