Question Word for Identity, Category, and Counters

The Japanese question word 何 is read as なん in standard beginner forms such as なんですか, なんの, and なんと言いますか, or when it attaches directly to a counter like in なんじ.

The Japanese kanji 何 has two main readings: なに and なん. As a beginner, mastering the rules for when to say なん will help you form the most common everyday questions. The easiest way to learn the なん reading is to memorize the concrete chunks where it always appears.

First, you will use なん before polite and casual sentence endings to ask what something is. You will constantly hear and use なんですか in polite speech and なんだ in casual speech. You will also use the fixed expression なんと言いますか to ask how to say something in another language.

Second, you will use the chunk なんの to ask about the content or category of a noun. If you see a book and want to know its topic, you ask なんの本ですか (what kind of book is it?). This usage is strict, so using the other reading here sounds unnatural.

Finally, 何 is read as なん whenever it attaches directly to a counter suffix. Counters are units used for time, dates, people, and objects. Memorize common beginner chunks such as なんじ (what time), なんようび (what day of the week), なんにん (how many people), and なんさい (how old). In these fixed expressions, the reading is always なん.

It is important to fix common mistakes by memorizing correct pairs. Always use the proper chunks like なんですか and なんじ. Conversely, avoid using なん before particles like が or を, which require the なに reading, such as なにがありますか and なにをしますか.