W-questions (wer, was, wo, wann, wie, warum)

Questions with "who," "what," "where," "when," "how," or "why" in German all follow the same simple pattern, once you know the words and the order they go in.

Quick shortcut: question word + conjugated verb — the question word (or question phrase) takes position 1, and the verb still comes right after it.

The question words

These are called W-questions (W-Fragen) because most common German question words begin with w — English has a similar group of wh- words, plus how.

At A1, wer is the form to start with, for asking about a person's identity or as the subject of a question. German also has wen and wem for "who(m)" when the person is the object of the verb or follows certain prepositions (Wen suchst du?, Mit wem...?) — those come later; for now, wer covers the common cases below.

The word order

A W-question follows the verb-second rule you already know from statements: the question word (or a whole question phrase) fills position 1, and the conjugated verb comes right after it in position 2:

• Was machst du? (What are you doing?)
• Wo wohnst du? (Where do you live?)
• Wann kommt der Zug? (When does the train arrive?)
• Wie heißt du? (What's your name? — literally: How are you called?)
• Warum lernst du Deutsch? (Why are you learning German?)

In these examples, the subject (du, der Zug) comes right after the verb, in third position — the same inversion pattern you already saw for statements that open with something other than the subject.

Sometimes, though, the question word itself is the subject — there's no separate subject to invert, so the verb just follows directly:

• Wer kommt? (Who's coming?)
• Was passiert? (What's happening?)
• Wer ist das? (Who is that?)

In direct W-questions, the conjugated verb stays in second position, right after the question word or phrase — the details of what follows depend on whether that question word is the subject or not.

Useful combinations

Some of the most common everyday questions combine a question word with another word or element:

• wie viel (how much): Wie viel kostet das? (How much does that cost?)
• wie viele (how many): Wie viele Kinder hast du? (How many children do you have?)
• wie alt (how old): Wie alt bist du? (How old are you?)
• wie lange (how long): Wie lange dauert das? (How long does that take?)
• woher (where from): Woher kommst du? (Where are you from?)
• wohin (where to): Wohin gehst du? (Where are you going?)

Wo asks about a fixed location, while woher and wohin build in the direction — woher ("from where") and wohin ("to where") — so no separate preposition is needed. For the clear standard A1 form, use Woher kommst du? — casual spoken German also often splits it into Wo kommst du her?, with her moved to the end; that's a pattern worth recognizing when you hear it, even if woher is the simpler form to produce yourself for now.

Answering with the same structure

Answers to W-questions are just normal German statements, so the conjugated verb is still in second position. The most common A1 answer starts with the subject:

• Wo wohnst du? — Ich wohne in Berlin. (I live in Berlin.)
• Wann kommt der Zug? — Der Zug kommt um neun. (The train arrives at nine.)

For emphasis or contrast, German can also put the answer's own information first instead, with the subject moving after the verb: In Berlin wohne ich. — this reads as more pointed than the plain subject-first version, so it's less common as a default beginner answer, but you'll hear it.

Common mistakes

• ❌ Wo du wohnst? → ✅ Wo wohnst du? (the verb comes right after the question word, not at the end — the verb-final order belongs to a different kind of clause, not a direct question)
• ❌ Was du machst? → ✅ Was machst du? (same fix: verb second, subject after it)
• ❌ Wie du heißt? → ✅ Wie heißt du? (the verb doesn't stay at the end in a direct question)
• At A1, Woher kommst du? is the clearest form for "where are you from" — the split version Wo kommst du her? is also correct and common in spoken German, but builds the idea across two parts of the sentence instead of one question word.

Quick check

Can you fill in the missing question word?

1. ____ ist das? (asking about a person)
2. ____ wohnst du? (asking about a place)
3. ____ kommt der Bus? (asking about a time)
4. ____ heißt du? (asking how someone is called)
5. ____ lernst du Deutsch? (asking for a reason)

Key takeaways

• The six core question words are wer (who), was (what), wo (where), wann (when), wie (how), and warum (why).
• W-questions follow the same verb-second pattern as statements: the question word or phrase in position 1, the conjugated verb right after it — followed by the subject, unless the question word itself is the subject.
• Combinations like wie viel, wie viele, wie alt, woher, and wohin build extra meaning right into the question word.
• Answers to W-questions are ordinary statements, still with the verb in second position — usually subject first, or with the answer's own information first for emphasis.