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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "Why are you here?" in Japanese?
なぜここにいるのですか？
naze koko ni iru no desu ka ?
In Japanese, "Why are you here?" is なぜここにいるのですか？ (naze koko ni iru no desu ka ?).
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Pronunciation
なぜここにいるのですか？ is written using hiragana. Romanised as naze koko ni iru no desu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "nah-zeh-koh-koh-nee-ee-roo-noh-deh-soo-kah" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
Naze (なぜ) is written purely in hiragana and means why. The particle no marks the embedded clause, and desu ka softens the potentially blunt question.
Example sentence
「なぜここにいるのですか？」は理由を聞くときの質問です。
'Naze koko ni iru no desu ka?' wa riyuu wo kiku toki no shitsumon desu.
'Why are you here?' is a question asked to find out the reason.
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How to remember なぜここにいるのですか？
Naze can feel confrontational, so many speakers use doushite instead. The hiragana rendering is neutral and appears in formal writing.
Related words
- what is the weather on friday? 金曜日の天気は何ですか？ kinyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what is your personality? どんな性格ですか？ donna seikaku desu ka ？
- what is your job? 仕事は何ですか？ shigoto wa nan desu ka ？
- what do you want? 何が欲しいですか？ nani ga hoshī desu ka ？
- how old are you? 何歳ですか？ nan sai desu ka ？
- what can you do? 何ができますか？ nani ga dekimasu ka ？
- what is the weather on monday? 月曜日の天気は何ですか？ getsuyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what do you love? すごく好きなものは何ですか？ sugoku sukina mono wa nan desu ka ？
- what do you dislike? 何が嫌いですか？ nani ga kirai desu ka ？
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about なぜここにいるのですか？
How do you pronounce なぜここにいるのですか?
なぜここにいるのですか？ is romanised as naze koko ni iru no desu ka ?. Say it roughly like "nah-zeh-koh-koh-nee-ee-roo-noh-deh-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is なぜここにいるのですか formal or casual?
なぜここにいるのですか？ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is なぜここにいるのですか written in Japanese?
なぜここにいるのですか？ is written using hiragana. Naze (なぜ) is written purely in hiragana and means why.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
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"Why are you here?" in other languages
- Korean 왜 여기에 있어요? (wae yeogie isseoyo?)
- Chinese 你为什么在这里? (nǐ wèi shén me zài zhè li ?)
- Spanish ¿Por qué estás aquí?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿Por qué estás aquí?
- French Pourquoi es-tu ici ?
- German Warum bist du hier?
- Italian Perché sei qui?
- Russian Почему ты здесь? (počemu ty zdesʹ?)
- Greek Γιατί είσαι εδώ; (yati ise edho)
- Arabic أنت هنا ليه؟ (inta hina lih?)
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