Brottin

TOPIC · Adverbs & particles

Question words in German (Fragewörter)

A1

After this lesson you can use the most important German Fragewörter correctly and build simple questions.

Fragewörter are question words that help you get information: person, time, place, reason, etc. On A1 level you learn the most frequent Fragewörter and build simple yes/no and information questions.

The most important Fragewörter

Overview

FragewortMeaningExampleTranslation
Werasks for a personWer ist das?Who is that?
Wasasks for a thing/actionWas machst du?What are you doing?
Woasks for a place (position)Wo wohnst du?Where do you live?
Wohinasks for a directionWohin fährst du?Where are you going (to)?
Woherasks for originWoher kommst du?Where do you come from?
Wannasks for a point in timeWann beginnt der Kurs?When does the course start?
Wieasks for manner/stateWie geht es dir?How are you?
Warumasks for a reasonWarum lernst du Deutsch?Why are you learning German?
Wie langeasks for durationWie lange dauert der Film?How long does the film last?
Wie oftasks for frequencyWie oft gehst du schwimmen?How often do you go swimming?
Wie vielasks for a quantity/priceWie viel kostet das?How much does that cost?

Note: After a Fragewort the conjugated verb normally comes in position 2: „Was machst du?“, „Wo wohnst du?“. The subject usually follows the verb.

Typical mini-dialogues

  • Question: Wie heißt du? Answer: Ich heiße Maria. (My name is Maria.)
  • Question: Wo arbeitest du? Answer: Ich arbeite in Berlin. (I work in Berlin.)

"Wo" + preposition: worüber, womit …

With „wo“ + a preposition German forms special Fragewörter that refer to things (not people):

FragewortExampleTranslation
WorüberWorüber sprichst du?What are you talking about?
WomitWomit arbeitest du?What do you work with?
WoraufWorauf wartest du?What are you waiting for?
WovonWovon träumst du?What do you dream of?
WoranWoran denkst du?What are you thinking of?

Important:

  • For people, use „mit wem“, „über wen“, not „womit“, „worüber“.
    • Mit wem gehst du ins Kino? (Who do you go to the cinema with?)
    • Über wen sprecht ihr? (Who are you talking about?)
  • Word order: Fragewort – verb – subject – rest.
    • Womit schreibst du? – Ich schreibe mit einem Stift. (What do you write with? – I write with a pen.)

Short practice ideas

  1. Write one question with each Fragewort: „Wer…?“, „Was…?“, „Wo…?“, etc.
  2. Add a fitting answer and say both aloud.

This way you practise vocabulary, Fragewörter and basic German word order together.