Self-Introduction & Personal Information
Lesson 5: Asking Simple Questions About Others
かんたんな しつもん — Simple Personal Questions
⏱️ About 25 minutes ／ 📊 Level: Beginner (N5) ／ 🗣️ Speaking + Reading
Before You Start
You can already introduce yourself in Japanese. Now it’s time to ask about others. In this lesson, you’ll learn the most useful personal questions so you can have a real two-way conversation.
What you’ll learn:
- Ask someone’s name — お名前は何ですか
- Ask where someone is from — どちらの出身ですか
- Ask where someone lives — どこに住んでいますか
- Ask someone’s job — お仕事は何ですか
- Ask about family — 家族は何人ですか
- Know which questions to use carefully
1. Key Phrases ／ きほんのフレーズ
2. Key Question Words ／ しつもんことば
These question words are the building blocks of personal questions. Remember these three first: 何 / どこ / 何人
3. Phrase Notes ／ ポイント
Don’t confuse 家族は何人ですか (How many people are in your family?) and a restaurant staff asking 何人ですか (How many people?). The same word 何人 means very different things depending on the situation.
4. Safe & Careful Questions ／ しつもんのマナー
| ✅ Safe — use with anyone | ⚠️ Personal — use with care |
|---|---|
| お名前は何ですか。 | 何歳ですか。 |
| どちらの出身ですか。 | 結婚していますか。 |
| お仕事は何ですか。 | 住所は何ですか。 |
| 今、どこに住んでいますか。 | 電話番号は何ですか。 |
💡 For beginners, stick to the ✅ safe questions. They are natural and will never feel rude.
5. Conversation Practice ／ かいわ
💬 Conversation 1 — Name and Country
💬 Conversation 2 — Job and Workplace
💬 Conversation 3 — Where You Live
💬 Conversation 4 — Full Personal Questions
6. Vocabulary ／ たんご
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 質問 | shitsumon | question |
| 家族 | kazoku | family |
| 子ども | kodomo | child / children |
| 結婚 | kekkon | marriage |
| 独身 | dokushin | single / unmarried |
| 住んでいます | sunde imasu | live / am living |
| 何人 | nan nin | how many people |
| 何歳 | nan sai | how old |
| 教えてください | oshiete kudasai | please tell me |
| そうですか | soo desu ka | I see. / Is that so? |
7. Check Your Understanding ／ クイズ
Think about each question first. The answer and explanation are shown below each one.
Q1. How do you ask “What is your name?” politely?
お名前 = name (polite). は何ですか = what is? Together: “What is your name?”
Q2. How do you ask “Where are you from?” politely?
どちら is the polite form of どこ. どちらの出身ですか is the most natural and polite way to ask where someone is from.
Q3. How do you ask “Where do you live?”
どこに住んでいますか = “Where do you live?” — asking about current residence. どこから来ましたか asks where you came FROM — a different question.
8. Match the Question ／ れんしゅう
Match each Japanese question with its correct English meaning. Check your answers below.
9. Choose the Best Response ／ れんしゅう
Choose the best response for each situation. Answers are shown below each one.
Q1. Someone asks, 「お名前は何ですか。」
When asked your name, say your name: 〇〇です or 〇〇と申します (formal).
Q2. Someone asks, 「どちらの出身ですか。」
When asked “Where are you from?”, reply with 〇〇出身です or 〇〇から来ました.
Q3. Someone asks, 「家族は何人ですか。」
When asked “How many people in your family?”, reply with 家族は〇人です. Don’t confuse 人 (people), 歳 (years old), and 時 (o’clock).
🚀 Mini Mission
Today’s mission: Ask and answer three personal questions in Japanese.
Practice with your teacher — ask these questions, then switch roles:
どちらの出身ですか。
お仕事は何ですか。
Then answer each one using what you learned in Lessons 1–4.
📘 Review ／ まとめ
In this lesson, you learned how to ask simple personal questions. The three most important are:
どちらの出身ですか。(Where are you from?)
お仕事は何ですか。(What is your job?)
💡 Use the polite prefix お with 名前 and 仕事. Use どちら instead of どこ when you want to sound more respectful. Be careful with personal questions like age, marriage, and address.
FAQ
Want to Practice with a Teacher?
The best way to practice asking and answering personal questions is in a real conversation. Practice with a professional teacher — start with a free trial lesson today.
Online or in-person — both available on request.